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PRINTED BY JAMES B. CHANDLER, 123 CHESTNUT STREET. 

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Philadelphia , 7th April , 1857. 


Hon. Joseph R. Chandler — 

Dear Sir : 

It has seemed to the gentlemen composing the Committees 
of the City Councils and of the citizens of Philadelphia, which have had the 
direction of the public solemnities attending the funeral of the late Dr. Kane, 
that a report or narrative of these solemnities should be written and preserved. 

It has been thought that this is due to the constituencies of the respective 
Committees which have united in directing them, and it has also been thought 
that thus an enduring record may be preserved of those remarkable and im- 
pressive demonstrations of public respect which attended the passage to the 
tomb of the remains of a citizen so gifted and so renowned. . 

I have been instructed to request you to prepare this narrative, and I trust 
that it will comport with your feelings and your duties to comply with the 
wishes which I have much satisfaction in conveying to you. 

I am, dear sir, 

Truly yours, 

THEODORE CUYLER, 
Chairman Committee of Councils , §c. 

4 »■ ■< » 


' Philadelphia , April 27th, 1857. 

THEODORE CUYLER, Esq.- 
Dear Sir : 

In compliance with the request, which your favor of the 
7th instant has conveyed to me, I have the honor to present a Report of the 
proceedings of the Joint Committee appointed to receive the remains and con- 
duct the obsequies of the late Dr. Elisha Kent Kane. All of us who united in 
those arrangements must feel how eminently due they were to the deceased, 
and yet how feeble an expression were they of the deep feeling of respect and 
regret entertained by our fellow citizens for Dr. Kane. 

Very truly, yours, 

JOSEPH R. CHANDLER, 
Chairman of the Joint Committee. 


















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4 ► 

To ordinary record we may safely trust the ordinary occurrence 
of the day ; and the chroniclers of passing events will not fail to 
do justice to whatever is deemed worthy of commemoration. 
.But the record of unusual occurrences, it may be admitted, is 
entitled to more than the ordinary means of perpetuation, and 
especially when public demonstrations denote a full appreciation 
of great and good acts. The public press reflects with wonderful 
accuracy, ordinary and extraordinary proceedings which daily 
take place ; but, with a fidelity that constitutes its excellence and 
its power, that press reflects all alike ; and the perfection of the 
whole, seems to render it difficult to contemplate with desirable 
abstraction any single event which it presents. There are 
circumstances too which render it proper to make a speciality of 
some extraordinary demonstration, not merely to augment the 
honors bestowed upon the person or fame of a distinguished indi- 
vidual, but to do justice to the purity and correctness of public 
sentiment in which those honors originated, and by which 
they were made the reward and stimulus to distinguished public 
virtue. 


/i 




The deep and general interest manifested in the proceedings 
relative to the honorable reception of the remains of the late Dr. 
Elisha Kent Kane, and in the solemn, public obsequies which 
followed, renders it appropriate, that those to whom was delegated 
the duty of arranging and conducting those ceremonies, should 
make public report of the origin of their power and the manner in 

which it was exercised ; and the following statement of the proceed- 

£ 

ings of the several bodies which were represented in the 66 Commit- 
tee of Arrangements,’’ will show the feelings in which the solemni- 
ties originated in this city, and the sentiment which it was the 
duty of the several committees in their joint action to illustrate. 









Tf 3 

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At a regular meeting of the City Councils, February, 26, 1857, 
Mr. Cuyler, in Select Council, upon unanimous leave, sub- 
mitted the following preamble and resolutions, prefacing them 
with the following remarks : 


Mr. President — I beg leave to ask the unanimous consent of 
the Chamber to an interruption of its accustomed duties, for the 
purpose of offering a preamble and resolutions. They are 
expressive of the high sense the City of Philadelphia entertains 
of the glory and renown which attend the achievements of one 
of the noblest of her sons in the cause of science and of humanity, 
and alas, they are expressive too of her sadness at his early 



7 


death, and of her desire to do honor to his memory. The death 
of Dr. Elisha Kent Kane has added another name to that list of 
great and noble men — born among us — whose cherished memories 
the City of Philadelphia places among her crown jewels. 

It has happened to us, sir, often before, that we have been 
called upon to mourn the death of citizens who have won for 
themselves a proud distinction, sometimes in military affairs, and 
sometimes in statesmanship or diplomacy or perhaps in the 
higher walks of professional life ; but not before this, within my 
recollection, has it happened to us, as in this instance, where he, 
whose body is now borne hither, that his ashes may mingle with 
his native soil, was a martyr in the cause of science and of 
humanity. I do not propose, sir, to speak of the career of Dr. 
Kane. The great events of his life are known to all of us. 
They were wrought out by the high faith and the noble impulses 
of a pure heart and an earnest nature. These steeled his heart to 
the delights of life, when the sad* cry of suffering humanity 
called him to deeds of noble daring. These raised his feeble 
frame above bodily weakness, and enabled him to triumph over 
cold and hunger, and kept bright and warm within his breast the 
flame of pure humanity amidst the never melting ice of Polar 
seas, and the dreary horrors of an Arctic winter. 

Mr. President — There is something due from the city of Phila- 
delphia to the memory of such a man. He whose eventful life 
was carried through so many strange vicissitudes in all quarters 
of the globe, will find at last in death that repose which seems in 
life to have been denied him here among us. Other cities through 
which his remains have been carried on their journey towards 
this their place of burial, have received them with appropriate 



8 


honors. I am persuaded that the city of Philadelphia will 
desire to bestow upon them also her tribute of respect, and will 
feel a melancholy satisfaction in receiving and committing to the 
tomb the remains of one of her sons, who has in his lifetime shed 
so much of lustre upon her annals. 

The resolutions I offer, sir, are expressive of these sentiments, 
and I will ask of the clerk that he will be kind enough to read 
them. 

Whereas, The body of the late Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, of Phila- 
delphia, who died in a foreign country from disease, contracted 
or enhanced by exposure to the severity of an Arctic climate, 
during a journey prompted by a high toned and chivalric feeling 
of philanthropy, and sanctioned by the government of our Union, 
is on its way to his native city for the purpose of interment, and 
it seems to be fitting that some expression should be uttered by 
the representatives of the citizens of Philadelphia, indicative of 
their sense of the great merit of their deceased fellow citizen, 
and of the renown and glory which have attached to the entire 
country from his admirable achievements in the cause of science 
and humanity, an expression which is responsive to similar 
sentiments coming from various parts of the Union, therefore, 

Resolved , That the City of Philadelphia will retain in ever 
grateful memory the noble services of Dr. Kane in the cause of 
science and humanity, which have reflected glory and renown 
upon his native city, and upon the whole country. 


Resolved , By the Select and Common Council of the City of 
Philadelphia, that a joint special Committee of five members of 




9 


each Chamber of Councils be appointed, whose duty it shall be 
to cause such measures to be taken upon the arrival of the 
remains of Dr. Kane, as will comport with the dignity of the 
City of Philadelphia, and be a fitting testimonial of her respect 
for the memory of Dr. Kane. 

• 

[The above resolutions were adopted by both Chambers and 
approved by the Mayor, February 27, 1857.] 

The following message was received from Mayor Vaux on the 
same subject : 

To the President and Members of the Select Council: 

Gentlemen : 

Information has been received in this city that Elisha Kent 
Kane departed this life at Havana, and that his remains are on the 
way to the place of his birth for the purpose of burial. A citizen 
of Philadelphia has made a sacrifice of his life in a service dedi- 
cated to philanthropy and science. To honor the memory of 
such a man is worthy of an enlightened community. In order 
that the City Councils may have an opportunity to take such 
action on the subject as to them shall seem appropriate, I have 
considered it proper to address them this communication. 

RICHARD VAUX. 

Mr. Perkins rose to second the resolutions, and said : — I know 
nothing, sir, I can say in relation to the resolutions which have 
just been offered, and which I rise with some unction to second, 




that has not already been better expressed ; and yet sir, I cannot 
but feel I owe it to the high esteem and regard I have ever felt 
for that distinguished man, to offer my humble tribute to his 
memory. 

Dr. Kane graduated at our University, I think, in 1843, as a 
physician, but very soon extended his usefulness far beyond the 
usual sphere of an ordinary physician , and in the short space of 
fourteen years has built up for himself and for his country a 
world-wide reputation which three score years and ten have 
rarely attained ; this is the condensation of manly ambition , and 
I feel pride in casting my feeble effort to add something to that 
respect and regard which, as a fellow citizen and fellow country- 
man , are so justly his due. I trust the resolutions will be 
unanimously adopted. 

In the Common Council, February 26, 1857, Mr. Holman 
offered the following, which were adopted previous to the Resolu- 
tions of Select Council being introduced into that Chamber : 


Mr. Holman, 

On leave granted, offered the following : 

Whereas, We have heard with unfeigned regret of the death 
of Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, a native of Philadelphia, whose bril- 
liant career, as an officer and explorer, has rendered his name 
dear to every American Citizen ; 

And Whereas, The character of Dr. Kane, his indomitable 
courage, his untiring zeal, his enthusiastic love of science and 
his sympathy for the suffering, have embalmed his memory in 



11 


the hearts of all who can appreciate the noblest and loftiest 
qualities of human nature, therefore — 

Resolved , That Dr. Elisha Kent Kane was not only an honor 
to this City, but to the nation at large, and that his genius, his 
toils, his self-denial, his patience and his perseverance throughout 
a most arduous career of duty and philanthropy, are calculated 
to adorn the American character. 

Resolved , That we sincerely condole with his, bereaved rela- 
tives and friends, and that a copy of these resolutions be ten- 
dered his afflicted family. 

Mr. Henry 

Offered the following Joint Resolution: 

Resolved , By the Select and Common Councils of the City 
of Philadelphia, that a Joint Special Committee of five mem- 
bers of each Chamber of Councils be appointed, whose duty it 
shall be to cause such measures to be taken upon the arrival of 
the remains of Dr. Kane in this City, as will comport with the 
dignity of the City of Philadelphia, and be a fitting testimonial 
of her respect for the memory of Dr. Kane. 

The Joint Special Committee appointed under the above Reso- 
lutions, is as follows : 

Select Council — Messrs. Theodore Cuyler, T. J. Perkins, 
Isaac N. Marselis, John Welsh, Oliver P. Cornman and George 

M. Wharton. 

Common Council — Messrs. Alexander Henry, Andrew J. 
Holman, Henry T. King, Joshua T. Owens and D. S. Has- 
singer. 






In pursuance of a call issued by Hon. Richard Vaux, Mayor 
of the City of Philadelphia, the citizens assembled in the District 
Court Room, on Friday evening, March 27, 1857, for the pur- 
pose of uniting with the municipal authorities in making arange- 
ments for the reception of the remains of the late Dr. Elisha 
Kent Kane, and for appropriate funeral solemnities. 

At seven o’clock the meeting was called to order by Prof. John 
F. Fraser, of the University of Pennsylvania, and on motion, his 
Honor, Mayor Vaux, was called to the chair. 

On motion of Mr. Isaac Elliott, the following gentlemen 
were appointed 

VICE PRESIDENTS. 


HON. HORACE BINNEY, 
HON. J. R. INGERSOLL, 
DR. ROBLEY DUNGLISON, 
HON. ELLIS LEWIS, 

HON. ELI K. PRICE, 
PROF. A. D. BACHE, 


REV. H. A. BOARDMAN, D. D., 
JOHN A. BROWN, ESQ., 
FREDERICK FRALEY, 

JOHN WELSH, 

HON. GEORGE SHARSWOOD, 
CHARLES HENRY FISHER, 


COMMODORE CHARLES STEWART, SAMUEL V. MERRICK. 

On motion of the Hon. Joseph R. Chandler, the following 
gentlemen were appointed 

SECRETARIES. 

J. FISHER LEAMING, S. AUSTIN ALLIBONE, 

EDWIN COOLIDGE. 


BBBBB 


13 


On taking his place as Chairman, 

MAYOR VAUX 

Stated the object of the gathering: — The occasion of our 
assembling is to pay, on behalf of this community, a tribute of 
respect to the memory of Elisha Kent Kane. He lived for his 
country, philanthropy and science. He died a victim to the 
devotedness of his life, to his life’s purpose. A citizen of Phila- 
delphia, with a fame co-extensive with learning and humanity, 
his mortal remains are about to be placed in a grave of his 
native soil. The nobleness of his self-devotion, the heroism of 
his contests, the results of his exertions, the causes of his early 
death, have placed his name among those of whom it is justly 
said “ Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori .” 

<»»♦» 


REMARKS OF HON. WILLIAM B. REED. 

The first speaker of the evening, Hon. William B. Reed, 
then rose and said : — 

Mr. Chairman — The duty has been delegated to me to offer 
to this meeting the draft of a few resolutions expressive of the 
feeling which animates it. I perform that duty with melancholy 
pleasure. The resolutions are meant to describe in precise and 
unexaggerated terms the pervading sentiment of this community, 
of sorrow, of pride, of gratitude. 

Two hundred years ago, the greatest poet (save one) that ever 
spoke the English language, said, 

“ Peace hath her victories, 

Not less renowned than wars.” 



And we have met here to night, in this, the City of his birth, 
to do honor to him who was emphatically one of the heroes of 
peace and peaceful enterprise. His victories were won in dismal 
solitude and amidst silent suffering — in the gloom of Arctic win- 
ter, and the greater peril of Arctic summer. His were peaceful 
conflicts, away from humanity, while the rest of what is called 
the civilized world were embroiled in fiercer and more ambi- 
tious struggles ; for in the three years of Dr. Kane’s last 
adventure, from May, 1853, to September, 1855, when Harstein 
(to whom be all honor, too,) found the wayfarers at Lieveley, the 
outer world was either convulsed, or with interest watching the 
bloody strife in Southeastern Europe. I do not pause to ask 
whose was the greater heroism ; those who fought within and 
without Sevastopol, or those eighteen American men, who, clus- 
tering in the little cabin of the Advance, watched and suffered 
during two Arctic winters, and hoped and struggled for but one 
reward — the discovery and rescue of the gallant men who, eight 
years before, had sought and encountered, and, as the result has 
shown, had been sacrificed to the same perils. Our Philadelphia 
hero was with the heroes of peace, in solitude, in silence, and 
suffering. Hence, we have reason to be proud of him. 

We have gratitude, too, to express. The wasted frame of the 
dead is brought back to us, but we, his friends and townsmen, 
have been made aware that the last hours of his life were passed 
in foreign lands, amongst those who were personally strangers, 
and yet that first in England, where no American gentleman can 
long be a stranger, and afterwards in Cuba, which peaceful 
affinities are every hour binding closer to us, our Philadelphia 
man, untitled, undistinguished except by what he has done and 



15 


suffered for humanity’s sake, was nursed and cared for, and con- 
soled, with as much tenderness and affection as if his bed of 
sickness had been within the limits of his native land. In this 
our gratitude is due. 

Our sorrow it is not easy to describe, simply because what we, 
as fellow citizens feel, seems feeble in comparison with the 
sharper grief of relatives and intimate personal friends. The 
community mourns for an eminent citizen. We mourn with 
selfish sorrow, because we craved other honors which he might 
have won for us. The latent hope is frustrated that our Ameri- 
can explorer — our Philadelphia adventurer might, had his life 
been prolonged, yet have solved the problem of Franklin’s fate, 
and carried back to our fatherland that which would have been 
more precious than the abandoned Resolute, some survivor of 
poor Franklin’s band, or some authentic intelligence (for there 
is really none such) of their actual fate. We sorrow not without 
hope, while such men as Harstein, and Simms, and De Haven 
are left with us. 

Let us, then, citizens of Philadelphia, do honor to the memory 
of the dead — our illustrious dead — in the manner which best 
becomes him and us ; with dignity, with moderation, with deco- 
rum, with no exaggerated ostentation, with no effort to make 
mere ceremonial transcend the limits of actual feeling. Let us 
show we feel this blow deeply. While other communities may 
exceed us in display, let Philadelphia — the City of Kane’s birth 
and education and manhood — show the deepest and most earnest 
feeling. 



16 


Mr. Reed then submitted the following 

PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS. 

The citizens of Philadelphia, convened in General Town Meet- 
ing, at the call of their Chief Magistrate, desire to unite with 
the constituted authorities, in doing honor to the memory of their 
distinguished townsman, Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, who recently 
died in a foreign land, and whose mortal remains now approach 
their final resting place, in his native City. With this view, 
they have 

i 

Resolved , That Philadelphia discharges the simplest duty of 
self-respect in doing honor to one who, on the great theatre of 
the enlightened world, has attracted the interest and the applause 
of all who sympathize with the noblest impulses of humanity, 
and watch the progress of scientific discovery and gallant 
adventure. 

Resolved , That, aside from the debt of gratitude we owe for 
the fame he has gained for Philadelphia, as Christians, and citi- 
zens of the world, we honor him for the persevering resolution 
with which he conducted the Second American Expedition, in 
search of Sir John Franklin, with no superior officer to control 
or direct him, and no other support in long years of trial and 
privation, than his own moral and intellectual resources, and the 
sympathies of the gallant men under his command. 

Resolved , That the English people owe (and we doubt not will 
gladly pay) to Dr. Kane this especial gratitude that he, more 
than any other, by the power of his pen and the influence of his 
example, awakened the interest of America to the career and 



fate of those heroic men, whose undiscovered destiny is yet the 
problem of this age of active enterprise. 

Resolved , That Philadelphia, sorrowfully but proudly welcom- 
ing the mortal remains of her dead son home again, thanks with 

earnest sincerity the distant communities whose kindness consoled 
• 

his latest hours upon earth, those who strove by all the appliances 
of professional skill and domestic comfort to arrest the progress 
of disease, and when in another land the hour of final agony 
came, those who mourned with tender sympathy around the bed 
of death. 

Resolved , That the citizens now assembled, thus inadequately 
expressing the general sentiment of the community, will unite 
with the Councils and the other authorities in such funeral cere- 
mony as may be determined on, and that the Mayor be requested 
to appoint a Committee of sixteen citizens to act as a Committee 
of Arrangement. 

Resolved , That a copy of the proceedings of this meeting, 
duly engrossed and authenticated, be communicated to the family 
of the deceased, and to such of the authorities of the British 
and Spanish Governments as may hereafter be determined on as 
best representing those whose kindness to our lamented towns- 
man we desire to commemorate. 


1 MAJOR BIDDLE’S SPEECH. 

Major Charles J. Biddle, in seconding the resolutions, said : 
I am requested to second the resolutions which have been offered 
to the meeting. In so doing, I shall not trespass long upon your 

9 


18 




indulgence, for I see present, many gentlemen whose eloquence 
may find an appropriate theme in the event which now brings us 
together. 

This meeting is not an assemblage of the professional asso- 
ciates, or the personal friends of the deceased — such as are con- 
vened on occasions of ordinary bereavement — hut it represents 
the citizens of Philadelphia, who desire to join with the municipal 
authorities in paying the last honors to one, whose career reflected 
honor upon the city of his birth. For at this moment, there is 
no man, native to our city, whose name and fame are so widely 
spread as his, whose untimely fate we deplore. At an age when 
a man has done much if he has acquired local distinction, 
Kane's celebrity extends throughout, nay, beyond, the limits of 
the civilized world , for even in the ice bound regions of the 
North Pole, his name is recalled with reverence and affection. 

But it will not be inappropriate for me to leave to others those 
general reflections which his career suggests, and to mention a 
circumstance of which I had particular opportunities of hearing. 
During the war with Mexico, Dr. Kane obtained a release from 
other duties, and came out to that country to join the American 
army. With his ardent and chivalrous temperament, I can sup- 
pose him to have heard with regret, that battles which decided 
the issue of the war had been already fought and won. But 
Providence reserved for him a distinction so appropriate to his 
philanthropic character, that all will perceive how much more it 
became him than ordinary military honors. 

At that time, there was employed by Gen. Scott, for purposes 
of communication and intelligence, a company of Mexicans, who 
had attached themselves to the American cause. Dr. Kane 



19 


arrived at the city of Puebla at a time when this company was 
returning from an expedition and on its way to join the army. 
In his eagerness to reach that destination, he did not wait for a 
worthier escort, but placed himself under their guidance. Upon 
the road they met with a Mexican force, and the mutual hostility 
of the two parties led to an immediate encounter, in which our 
adherents, aided by Kane and encouraged by his example, were 
victorious. 

But the enmity of these renegades, against their own country- 
men, was not restrained by the rules of ordinary warfare, and 
their first impulse was to improve their advantage by a massacre 
of the prisoners. Against this I need not say that Kane remon- 
strated, and when his remonstrances proved vain, he threw him- 
self before the intended victims, and made his own body the 
barrier between them and the death that menaced them. Single 
handed, his dauntless bearing prevailed in that struggle ; but 
when I saw him, not long afterwards, he bore upon his person a 
wound from an intercepted blow aimed at the life of one of the 
prisoners ; a wound from which he had not then recovered, if, 
indeed, he ever entirely recovered from the effects of it. 

Here, then, I say, he won an honor consistent with that 
benevolence of character which was to impel him to those arduous 
researches, the end and aim of which were to carry aid to suffer- 
ing humanity. Doubtless all of us thought with regret and 
sympathy of Franklin and his comrades, lost, starved, frozen up 
in living death, a in the thrilling regions of thick ribbed ice;” 
but their cry for aid seemed to reach the very heart of Kane, 
and he girded himself up, and roused the enthusiasm of others 
to noble, and powerful and persistent efforts for their rescue. 




20 

It is in this forgetfulness of self, in sympathy for others that 
I recognize the traits of a noble character, worthy, fellow 
citizens, of all the honors we can pay to it. 


PROF. FRAZER’S ADDRESS. 

Major Biddle was followed by Professor John F. Frazer, 
who spoke in 'eloquent and impressive language of the scientific 
attainments of Dr. Kane, and of the name and fame which he 
had acquired by his industry — his energy — his trials, and his 
sufferings. My own personal acquaintance with Dr. Kane, said 
he, dates from comparatively a late period. I became acquainted 
with him shortly before his first expedition ; but I know few 
persons, and in the course of my reading came across few sources 
of such abundant, thorough, well digested information as Dr. 
Kane brought back with him from every expedition he made. 
His was truly, sir, a scientific mind, — a mind quick in its obser- 
vations, — a mind enthusiastic in its appreciation, — a mind full of 
that brilliant genius of induction, by means of which he was 
enabled to see the connection which lay between phenomena, 
which, perhaps, might have been passed unappreciated, and been 
forgotten by others. 

But it was not merely in recording science that Dr. Kane 
excelled, but it was in that beautiful disposition which enabled 
him to see something beyond what is ordinarily considered 
science. He was enabled to see that this portion of his study 
was, in effect, nothing but preparation for a greater and more 
full knowledge of more grand and sublime mysteries hereafter. 



21 


MR. CHANDLER’S SPEECH. 

The Hon. J. R. Chandler said — After what has been said, and 
well said, the object for which we assemble this evening will find 
its greatest approval. Indeed, sir, the public grief for the cause 
for which we assemble on this occasion, is of a character which 
words fail to express. I appear, sir, at the request of the gentle- 
men of the Committee, or I would not have trespassed upon your 
time. While I was without that intimate personal relation with 
Dr. Kane which others here possessed, I was deeply interested 
in his public movements, and greatly concerned for his last voyage 
to the North. And it was my good fortune to concur in a reso- 
lution by which the intrepid gentleman should go at the public 
expense. But, sir, I stand here as a member of this community, 
to say how deeply every member of it feels the loss that the 
nation has sustained in the death of Doctor Kane, and to 
express our appreciation of his great worth, and his noble, gene- 
rous daring, and his benevolence, which outstripped all — to give 
expression to those feelings which such acts and such motives 
excite — expression, sir, which will not be complete until every 
individual, benefitted or honored by his exertions, shall also utter 
his sentiments, and until impartial history shall have handed to 
future generations for admiration, the name and the deeds of one 
who is so honored by the present generation. His life will be 
the history of private griefs — it will be the history of many 
sufferings, and a statement of deep and of abiding interest. 
But, sir, history will do justice to these, and demonstrate the 
propriety of any movement to do honor to the memory of one 
who was so distinguished. It would be scarcely proper in any 



22 


public meeting to attempt to follow Dr. Kane through his inter- 
esting movements by which he has connected his name with the 
history of this age. The gentleman preceding me has given 
an edifying anecdote concerning him. It would be interesting 
to every Philadelphian to follow him upon his track across the 
frozen ocean, to fancy oneself with him when he looked down 
on the calm, peaceful, Arctic sea from a point upon which per- 
haps no man had ever rested, and the existence of which had 
been recorded by no pen but his, and then to follow him from 
that cold frozen region down to the sunny climate of the Antilles, 
and to see there, festering in his heart, the arrow which had been 
planted there at the North, already wasting his life in disease, 
and now looking across the barrier of time upon the great ocean 
of eternity, which he could not describe, making those last dis- 
coveries, and the only discoveries made by Doctor Kane that 
were not for the benefit of those whom he left behind. 

I speak now, sir, because I believe it proper on an occasion of 
this kind to do honors, such as this meeting is called to do. I 
do not suppose, sir, that we shall add anything to his fame, but 
it is to our own credit as Philadelphians, it is to our own credit 
as citizens of the city that gave him birth, that we appreciate his 
deeds, and it is a source of gratification to every Philadelphian, 
and the friends of Dr. Kane especially, that while he was busily 
engaged in those vast pursuits, which gave to him a world-wide 
fame, that while he w r as looking from the Equator to the Poles, 
and making himself familiar with all that concerned this earth, 
it w r as a providential blessing that he was not unacquainted with 
the fickle tenor in which his life w r as held. 

I will not trespass longer. I have other duties to perform ; 



but this was a solemn one to me. There are those who will do 
more honor to his principles, but there are none who can feel 
more deeply the honor and glory that was reflected on our be- 
loved city by such a man. 






REMARKS OF REV. DR. BOARDMAN. 

Rev. Dr. H. A. Boardman said : — I am here, sir, on the invi- 
tation of one of the gentlemen of the committee, I should have 
been here under any circumstances, (Providence permitting,) and I 
am here on that invitation simply to express my concurrence in 
that object for which this meeting has been assembled, and my 

sympathy in the great bereavement which an All-wise Providence 

% 

has seen fit to visit upon us ; and if I rightly interpret the feel- 
ings of this community by my own, there can be but very little 
of the mere pageantry of grief. We are not here simply to 
express our admiration for Dr. Kane. 

There is not a man in this assembly — no ! there is not a man 
in this broad land or any other land, who has read those pic- 
turesque and beautiful volumes, whose heart has not gone out in 
love as w r ell as in admiration for him. It is impossible for a man 
who is susceptible of any generous sentiment to read the simple 
and graphic records of his labors and his trials, without love, and 
not feel it to be a privilege to cast, if it be but a single flower, 
upon his grave. 

Dr. Kane, sir, has established a name and a place for himself 
among our men of science, and he will be held in high and 




The Mayor announced the committee of sixteen, as follows : 


Hon. JOSEPH R. CHANDLER, 
ISAAC ELLIOTT, 

Maj. CHARLES J. BIDDLE, 
Hon. WILLIAM D. KELLEY, 
ISAAC HAZLEHURST, 

Gen. GEO. CADWALADER, 
ISAAC F. BAKER, 

JOSEPH M. THOMAS, 


CHARLES INGERSOLL, 
Prof. JOHN S. HART, 
WILLIAM B. FOSTER, 
EDWARD WARTMAN, 
THOMAS S. STEWART, 
Hon. WILLIAM H. WITTE, 
ALEXANDER CUMMINGS, 
CHARLES HALLOWELL. 


On motion of Hon. William D. Kelley, the meeting ad- 
journed at about 8 o’clock. 


■4 -♦ ♦ 


CORN EXCHANGE. 

A meeting of the members of the Corn Exchange was held 
February 27, 1857. 

Col. S. N. Winslow, after a few remarks in regard to the 
decease of Dr. E. K. Kane, moved that Mr. Alexander G. 
Cattell be called to the Chair, and Mr. W. S. Pierie be ap- 
pointed Secretary, which was agreed to. 

Mr. George L. Buzby moved that a Committee of three be 
appointed to submit a preamble and resolutions expressive of 
their views upon the subject, which was agreed to. 

Messrs. George L. Buzby, John Wright and William B. 
Thomas, were appointed on the Committee, who submitted the 
following : — 

Whereas, It has pleased an All-wise Providence to remove 
from his earthly career, Dr. Elisha Kent Kane ; and, 


26 


Whereas, The mercantile and commercial community, haying 
a proper appreciation of the eminent abilities of the deceased, 

and of his enthusiastic and untiring efforts in behalf of science 

\ 

and philanthropy, feel, in common with the rest of our fellow 
citizens, the irreparable loss which not only Philadelphia, but 
Pennsylvania, and every other City and State in the Union, 
have suffered by his demise ; therefore, 

Resolved , That the members of the Corn Exchange Associa- 
tion tender to the parents and relatives their sympathies in the 
day of their affliction.- 

Resolved , That the officers and members of the Corn Ex- 
change Association will join with the civic and military authori- 
ties in rendering an appropriate mark of their respect to the 
memory of the deceased, and that a Committee of five be ap- 
pointed to confer with similar Committees from other Associa- 
tions upon the subject. 

t 

Resolved , That the Secretary furnish an authenticated copy 
of the above preamble and resolutions to the family of the 
deceased. 

Mr. Buzby ? in moving the adoption of these resolutions, ap- 
pealed to that proper pride which ought to exist in the bosom of 
every Philadelphian, when a distinguished fellow citizen has won 
the applause of an admiring world. There certainly was that 
strength of public spirit in the Corn Exchange Association, 
which insured their prompt desire to render the last tokens of 
respect to the memory of the remarkable man, who has left this 
world young in years, but full of honors. He had, then, he w^as 
sure, only to propose the resolutions, without the necessity of 


27 


any lengthened remarks, which, whilst unnecessary to move them 
to a proper action on this occasion, must naturally fall short of 
the tribute due to the departed. A community which fails to 
respect the memory of her own great children, and to furnish 
those outward tokens so appropriate at such a time as this, has 
lost its own claims to the respect of mankind. 

On motion of George McHenry, seconded by E. G. James, 
the preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted, and 
Messrs. James Steel, C. J. Hoffman, J. J. Black, George 
Raphael, and James Barratt, were appointed on the Committee. 

On motion, Messrs. A. G. Cattell and Samul L. Ward, were 
subsequently added. 

On Saturday, February 28th, the Committee from City Councils, 
and the Committee appointed by the meeting of citizens, and the 
Committee on the part of the “ Corn Exchange,” assembled in 
the Select Council Chamber, with a view of uniting their exer- 
tions to promote the objects for which they were severally 
appointed, when, on motion of Theodore Cuyler, Esq., Chair- 
man of the Committee, of the Select Council, Hon. Joseph R. 
Chandler, the Chairman of the Committee from the meeting of 
citizens, was appointed Chairman of a Joint Committee, and H. 
G. Leisenring, was appointed Secretary. 

The Joint Committee determined to do all in their power, with 
such means as they possessed, to fulfil the intentions of the 
several bodies by which they were appointed, and to make such 
arrangements as would allow to the citizens of Philadelphia an 
expression of their high regard for the merits of the distinguished 
dead, doing honor at once to the greatness of his enterprise in 


28 


the cause of science, and to the beauty of his example in the 
exercise of benevolence. And the Joint Committee now respect- 
fully report their proceedings under that organization. 

At the time of the appointment of the Committee of Arrange- 
ment, the remains of Dr. Kane had been brought from Ha- 
vana, where he died, to the City of New Orleans, where they 
were received with distinguished honors, which were continued 
on the whole route from that City to Philadelphia, making the 
passage of the body of the deceased one continuous display of 
public regard ; and so intimately connected were these demon- 
strations that each seemed to be one link in a lengthened chain 
of admiration and affectionate respect, so universally felt and 
expressed ; and so in unison with public sentiment were they that 
the concluding ceremonies in Philadelphia may be regarded as a 
natural termination of the demonstrations of regard commenced 
at Havana. 

And hence, the Committee have deemed it consistent with the 
objects of their appointment to notice briefly the testimonials 
by which other communities manifested their respect to the 
character and services of the deceased. 

The death of Dr. Kane, it is known, occurred at Havana, on 
the 16th of February, 1857 ; and the citizens of the United 
States, resident in that City or transiently there, availed them- 
selves of the earliest opportunity to express their grief at the 
loss, and their respect for the character of their distinguished 
countryman ; and it is gratifying to notice that the highest 
authority of the Island of Cuba has commended himself to the 
grateful acknowledgment of every American by his promptness 
in offers of aid in the demonstrations of respect to the deceased. 


29 


The subjoined is an abstract of the proceedings in Havana on 
the death of Dr. Kane : — 

|)n>«tiiinp at it) a nan a. 

Havana, 17th February, 1857. 

The citizens of the United States, resident and transient in 
Havana, were this day called together at the Consulate, by A. 
K. Blythe, Esq., for the purpose of making a public demonstra- 
tion of respect to the memory of our much lamented fellow citi- 
zen, Dr. E. K. Kane. 

At two o’clock, a very large number being assembled, were 
called to order by General Patterson, of Pennsylvania, who, 
after a few remarks, nominated the Hon. A. K. Blythe, United 
States Consul, as Chairman, and Henry Tiffiney, of Maryland, 
as Secretary. 

Mr. Blythe explained the object of the meeting, which the 
assemblage heard with deep sensation ; and he also submitted 
the following note from the Governor Captain General : 

[COPY — TRANSLATION.] 

Office of the Grovernor Captain Greneral and Superintendent of 
the Exchequer of the Ever Faithful Island of Ouha. 

(Seal.) 

( government Secretary's Office — Section of Grovernment. 

I have received the communication that you have addressed to 
me, under this date, soliciting permission that the American 
citizens residing in this city may meet at your residence for the 



30 


purpose of making a public demonstration on the decease of 
your fellow citizen, Dr. E. K. Kane. I have the greatest satis- 
faction in acceding to the wishes expressed by you, and beg of 
you to make known to me the result of the meeting indicated, 
that I may unite with you in the manifestation that shall be 
resolved upon to the memory of that distinguished man of 
science. God preserve you many years. 

Havana, 17 th February , 1857. 

(Signed) ' JOSE DE LA CONCHA. 


To the Commercial Agent in Charge of the Consulate of the 

United States . 

Havana, February 18th, 1857. 

A. K. Blythe, Esq. — 

Fear Sir: 

His Excellency, the Captain General, 
having been informed that Dr. Kane’s body is to be taken to 
his native country, and wishing that its transportation to the 
vessel, selected for that purpose, may be effected with the respect 
due to his merit, has resolved to place at your service, and that 
of his friends, the government barge, particularly as there are 
no American men of war in port whose boats might perform this 
sad duty. His Excellency, for this reason, would wish you to 
inform him beforehand, of the day when the ceremony will take 
place, in order that he may give the corresponding orders to the 


31 


boat, and that some of the members of the Scientific Corpora- 
tions of this City may accompany the remains. 

(Signed) MANUEL AGUIRE Y TEJADOR, 

Secretary. 

On motion of General Patterson, a Committee of five was 
appointed by the Chairman, to present resolutions expressive of 
the sympathy of the meeting. The Committee, consisting of 
General Patterson, of Pennsylvania ; Governor H. W. Cush- 
man, of Massachusetts ; C. C. Thompson, of New York ; Col. 
Robertson, of Havana, and James Battle, of Alabama, re- 
ported the following, which were adopted unanimously : 

The late Dr. E. K. Kane, having, by dispensation of Divine 
Providence, terminated his brief but eventful career, we, citizens 
of the United States, resident and transient in Havana, desiring 
to express our grateful sense of his distinguished services to his 
country and mankind, do resolve, 

First, That in the death of Dr. Kane, our country has lost 
a valuable and world-renowned citizen, who has adorned her 
annals ; science has been deprived of an ardent advocate, ever 
ready by self-abnegation, to advance its interests ; and humanity 
a devotee, who yielded his life in obedience to her commands. 

Second, That whilst we deeply deplore his loss as a public 
calamity, w T e tender our heartfelt condolence to his parents, 
brothers, and distressed relatives. 

Third, That these resolutions, with the letter of the Governor 
Captain General in relation to this meeting, be presented to the 



32 


family of the deceased, and a copy of the same be made public 
through the press of the United States. 

To the same Committee that had introduced the resolutions, 
was referred the duty of assisting the family, as' mourners, in 
removing to the Steamer the body of Dr. Kane, for conveyance 
to the United States. 

On the 20th of February, the body of Dr. Kane was borne 
on men’s shoulders, to the Plaza de Armes, followed by a great 
number of persons, citizens of the United States and of the 
Lanos. At the Plaza, the body was received by His Excellency, 
the Governor of the City and suite ; also, by various Scientific 
Associations, who joined in the procession to the place of em- 
embarkation. A band of military music accompanied the pro- 
cession from the beginning, and another band joined it at the 
Plaza. The State barge received the body and the mourners at 
the place of embarkation, and conveyed them to the Steamer 
Catawba. The boats of the Steamer and of private American 
vessels, and those belonging to the Ships of other nations, fol- 
lowed in solemn procession. 

The Spanish flag, which had been hoisted at the Cabaret, 
was lowered as the body was received into the barge ; and on 
board of the Catawba, the Governor of the City pronounced 
an elegant address in Spanish, paying tribute to the merits and 
character of Dr. Kane. The United States Consul replied in 
very appropriate terms. 

The whole proceedings at Havana, from the arrival of Dr. 
Kane, sick and suffering, until his remains left the harbor of 
that City, were marked by delicacy and kindness towards him 
and his friends while he lived, and when he died, honors that 


33 


reflect honor upon the officers and people, and appeal to the 
finest feelings of the human heart for appreciation and grati- 
tude, were bestowed upon his memory and remains. 





The Catawba arrived at New Orleans on the 2 2d of February, 
and as soon as the steamer reached her berth, his honor, Mayor 
Waterman, promptly proffered to the relatives of the deceased, 
the city’s guardianship, of the hallowed remains, while they 
remained within its limits ; and that offer being gratefully accepted, 
the Company of Continental Guards escorted the body to the City 
Hall, where it lay in state under the honorable guard of the 
company that escorted it thither. Every pains was taken to 
make expressive the demonstrations of respect ; and the manifes- 
tations of regard on the part of the citizens of New Orleans, 
were such as to do honor to that city. 

The procession to convey the remains to the steamer Woodford, 
that was to ascend the river, was composed of an unusual display 
of the military of the two Brigades in full uniform, the Sons of the 
St. George, a large and imposing body of Englishmen, the Masonic 
Order, the Corpse, with twelve pall bearers, being officers of the 
Army and Navy, and Representa tives of Civic Societies, the Mayor 
and Recorder and the Foreign Consuls, following in carriages. 
The Keystone Club, composed of Pennsylvanians and citizens 
in general. The whole proceedings in New Orleans were most 
expressive and honorable to all. 


3 



34 


The progress of the steamer that conveyed up the Mississippi 
and the Ohio, the remains of Dr. Kane, was watched with intense 
anxiety, and wherever it was possible the attempt was made by 
the people, to give expression to the respect which the lofty 
character and ennobling service of the deceased had excited. 
Only one feeling seemed to animate the public mind through the 
whole progress of the remains, deep and abiding respect for 
the memory of Dr. Kane, and anxiety to give such an expression to 
that feeling as would be most to the honor of him who had so 
honored his country and his kind, and many anecdotes are 
related of gentle and delicate expressions of regard. 

At Louisville, Kentucky, preparations worthy the high credit 

\ 

of that city had been made, to do honor to the deceased. 

In anticipation of the arrival of the remains, the Mayor of 
Louisville issued a call for the councils of the city, to meet with 
a view of making proper arrangements to do honor to the fame 
of the Hero of Peace, and public meetings of citizens were also 
held to unite in these demonstrations, the Order of Free Masons 
had also made arrangements to lead in this manifestation of 
respect. 


CernMitics at 

The body of Dr, Kane was with great ceremony received in 
Louisville, and conveyed to the Mozart Hall, where it lay in 
state, attended by a guard of honor. 



35 


On the following day the remains were removed to the steamer. 
The procession was headed by the Masonic Fraternity, and was 
composed of the City Authorities and the numerous associations 
of the place. The whole arrangement of reception and transmis- 
sion of the remains in the city of Louisville, was of the most 
liberal kind. From Louisville the remains of Dr. Kane were 
conveyed to New Albany, Indiana, and appropriately received 
there. 

A committee from the city of Cincinnati here met the New 
Albany and Louisville committee, and received the charge of the 
sacred remains and conveyed them by steamer to Cincinnati, 
accompanied by deputations from the cities below. The feelings 
of deep respect expressed in the remarks of the various com- 
mittees, as they resigned or received the charge, were eloquent 
homages to the great merits of the dead. 




Ceremonies at Cincinnati. 

The remains were received with great solemnity at the city of 
Cincinnati, and conveyed in solemn procession to the depot of 
the Little Miami Rail Road. Here as elsewhere, the honor done 
to the distinguished dead constituted the business of the day. 
All other employment ceased, and a whole city seemed to be 
anxiously and mournfully occupied in devising and executing the 
means, by which best to express their admiration for the character 
of the object of the honors. 



The United States troops, and the volunteer uniform troops, 
from other cities, and those of Cincinnati, in large numbers formed 
the military escort, and in the individuals selected to do special 
service in the procession as pall bearers, &c., reference was had 
to the highest worth and most distinguished place. 

The whole proceedings here were characterized by heartiness 
and liberality becoming a great city, distinguished for the wealth 
and character of its citizens. 



Ceremonies at Colnmhs. 

The remains of Dr. Kane reached Columbus, the seat of the 
State Government of Ohio, on Saturday night, the 7th of 
March. 

The remains were met at the depot by committees of various 
bodies, the Legislature, the Military, the Free Masons, Odd 
Fellows, &c., and conveyed with solemnity at midnight to the 
Capitol, and placed in state in the Senate Chamber, under a 
guard of honor of the State Fencibles. 

On Sunday, divine service was held in the Capitol, and a 
sermon preached on the life and character of Dr. Kane, by the 
Rev. Dr. Hoge. 

On Monday morning a vast gathering of the citizens of Colum- 
bus expressed the anxiety of all, to join in whatever manifesta- 
tion of respect for the dead might be possible, and a procession 
was formed to convey the remains from the Capitol to the depot 


37 


of the Rail Road. As this demonstration is the expression of 
respect by a sovereign state, and one of the most populous of the 
Union, it is deemed appropriate to give the order of procession 
in which the movement from the capitol was made. 

Chief Marshal. 

LUCIEN BUTTLER. 

Assistant Marshals. 

RICHARD NEVINS, HENRY M. NELL, 

WALTER C. BROWN. 

:b 1st id- 


state FENCIBLES— Capt. Reamy. 


COLUMBUS CADETS— Capt. Tyler. 


Pall Bearers 

of the Medical Profession. 

W. M. AWL, M. D., 

R. THOMPSON, “ 

S. PARSONS, 

S. M. SMITH, “ 

JOHN DALLON, “ 


>- 

D 

o 


Pall Bearers. 

WM. B. HUBBARD, P. G. M., 
W. B. THRALL, P. G. M., 

N. H. SWAYNE, M. M., 

G. SWAN, M. M., 

DR. L. GOODALL, P. G. T., 
DR. T. WOODBURY, M. M. 


LIEUT. MORTON, OF THE KANE EXPEDITION. 


COMMITTEE TO ACCOMPANY REMAINS TO WHEELING. 



, 38 

CINCINNATI COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENT. 

COLUMBUS COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENT. 

RELATIVES OF DECEASED, IN CARRIAGES. 

REVEREND CLERGY. 

BAND. 

GRAND LODGE OF MASONS OF OHIO— T. LEAGH, MARSHAL. 

GOVERNOR OF OHIO, AND STAFF. 

HEADS OF DEPARTMENT, AND OTHER STATE OFFICERS. 
SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF OHIO. 

MEDICAL PROFESSION. 

CITY COUNCILS OF COLUMBUS. 

MAYOR AND CITY OFFICERS. 

FIREMEN. 

JUDGES AND OFFICERS OF COURTS. 

CITIZENS GENERALLY. 

In this order, the procession moved to the depot of the rail- 
road. 

The train that bore the precious burthen proceeded to Bellair, 
on the west bank of the Ohio, and thence the body was conveyed 
to Burwood, on the opposite shore, and there placed in the car 
prepared by the Baltimore Committee. Large committees from 
various bodies at Columbus, attended the remains, and at every 
point, citizens assembled to express their respect for the man . 


Ceremonies at ®Efjediitg. 

At Wheeling, great preparations had been made by the 
Masonic fraternity, the Military, the City Authorities, and the 
various societies of that place, and citizens generally, to receive 
and do honor to the remains, but the delay below deprived them 
of the opportunity of making that ample demonstration which 
they desired, and which they were prepared to do. The cars 
reached Martinsburg (Va.), at half-past six o’clock on Tuesday, the 
10th of March, where the body was formally resigned to a com- 
mittee from Baltimore, consisting of the following named persons : 

HON. W. F. GILES, BENJAMIN DEFORD, ESQ., 

JOHNS HOPKINS, ESQ., WM. H. YOUNG, ESQ, 

PROF. CAMPBELL MORFITT, SAMUEL SANDS, ESQ., 

COL. THOMAS CARROLL, WENDALL BOLLMAN, ESQ. 

■< » 

rncccbings at 

The body of Dr. Kane reached the Camden depot in Balti- 
more, at ten o’clock, A. M., and was received with every demon- 
stration of respect that a full appreciation of the character and 
services of the deceased, and a liberal and generous regard of 
what is due to great worth could devise. A solemn and 
lengthened procession composed of the officers of the navy and 





army, and the City Authorities, the Masonic fraternity, and the 
various institutions of learning and science and benevolence of 
the city, accompanied the remains amid the silence of suspended 
business, to the splendid hall of the Maryland Institute, where 
they lay in state during the day and evening, guarded by the 
Company of Independent Greys. 

As Dr. Kane was an active and most esteemed member of the 
Maryland Institute, it may not be amiss to give at length the 
proceedings of that Association preparatory to a demonstration 
which it made in his honor : 

MEETING AT THE MARYLAND INSTITUTE. 

Agreeably to announcement in yesterday's papers, the mem- 
bers of the Maryland Institute assembled last evening in the 
library room of the building for the purpose of testifying their 
regard for the memory of the late Dr. Kane, and to make neces- 
sary arrangements for receiving the remains. At eight o’clock 
the chair was taken by the Hon. Thomas Swann, one of the Vice 
Presidents, (the President, Hon. Joshua Yansant, being absent 
from the city,) who, in a few words, stated the object of the 
meeting. He then made the following address : 

Gentlemen of the Maryland Institute : 

It has become my painful duty to announce to you the death 
of our distinguished countryman, Dr. Elisha Kent Kane. This 
sad event took place at Havana, on the 16th instant, whither he 
had repaired for the benefit of his health — broken down by the 
exposure and toils of his late expedition to the Arctic seas. As 


jjigTTT CT [—a— —a 



a member of this Institute, his presence had become familiar to 
you all, and I need hardly recur to associations, which were alike 
honorable to himself as they were grateful to the members of 
this body. He was one of its early contributors and most 
earnest advocates. It was during a recent visit abroad, as I 
have been informed, that he urged a friend, only less distinguished 
than himself, if he ever visited the United States, not to over- 
look the Maryland Institute as a prominent object of interest. 
His voice has been heard in these halls. It was the theatre of 
many a noble effort of his genius and his learning, and we may 
well be permitted to drop a tear over the loss we have sustained, 
in common with the civilized world. 

In the midst of a career, such as no man had traversed before 

/ 

him — a career marked by daring and adventure — enriched by 
useful discovery, and rendered memorable by the most generous 
impulses of the human heart, he has been withdrawn from the 
scenes of his earthly triumphs ; he had reached the last round 
of the ladder, and his early exit has only added increased lustre 
to the brilliant record of that modest and unobtrusive career 
w r hich has astonished both hemispheres. 

Dr. Kane was one of those who seemed to estimate life only 
as a means of accomplishing some great and useful purpose. 
When the stoutest hearts quailed he was unmoved. In the midst 
of frozen seas, where barriers of eternal ice threatened to shut 
out forever all hope of re-union with the civilized world behind 
him, he continued to press forward with the gallant followers 
whom his own courage had inspired, until he reached a point upon 
the earth’s surface which no human foot had pressed, and which 
nature herself seemed to have stamped as forbidden ground. 



42 


The bones of the intrepid Franklin — falling in the same perilous 
adventure — lay mouldering upon the outskirts of this great field, 
while the more successful march of the unsatisfied American 
bore him to the utmost verge of human discovery, beyond which 
no subsequent traveller is likely to penetrate. 

When we look at the extreme youth of this meritorious officer 
at the time when he entered upon these daring explorations ; 
when we consider his patient endurance — his untiring energy — 
his profound science — we cannot contemplate without emotion, 
his brief career, and the many striking incidents of his past 

A mere boy, he took upon himself the responsibilities and 
duties of bearded men — and at an age comparatively immature, 
we find him sinking into the grave, crowned with the glittering 
testimonials of princes and potentates, of statesmen and men of 
letters — vieing with each other to honor themselves in doing 
homage to this illustrious American. 

Such was Dr. Kane. We have met here to-night to pay the 
last tribute to his memory. He was the friend of this institu- 
tion ; he had endeared himself to us all. May the example he 
has left stimulate us to increased effort in the useful field of our 
labors. May we look with renewed pride to the results of his 
successful life, and always remember such triumphs are to be met 
with only in the walks of untiring industry and spotless virtue. 

Mr. Swann then offered the following preamble and resolu- 
tions, which had been prepared by a committee of the member- 
ship : 

Whereas, The Maryland Institute has been apprised of the 



na 



WWW I r mill — m 

43 


death, at Havana, on the 16th instant, of Dr. Elisha Kent 
Kane, an honorary member of this Institute ; and 

Whereas, His name has become distinguished, not only in his 
own country, but throughout the civilized world, for his contri- 
butions to science and useful discovery, placing him in advance 
of the most chivalric, skillful and enterprising of the navigators 
who have gone before him, in all that was calculated to reflect 
honor upon his country or shed a lustre upon his own fame ; and 

Whereas, It is proper and becoming that the whole country 
should recognize the severity of the blow which has deprived us 
of one of our most illustrious citizens, and especially by the 
Maryland Institute, whose labors he has shared and whose 
character he has contributed so largely to adorn, by the close and 
intimate relationship in which he stood towards us : 

Resolved , That the members of the Maryland Institute 
receive with unmingled sorrow the sad intelligence of the death 
of Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, and that they tender to the family of 
the deceased their most sincere condolence in this heavy bereave- 
ment. 

Resolved , That a committee of twenty-five of the members of 
this Institute be appointed in behalf of this body to take charge 
of the remains of our deceased brother, on their arrival in 
Baltimore, or at such point on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 
as they may deem most convenient and proper, and that they be 
instructed to make such further arrangements as may be neces- 
sary to represent the feelings of the Institute on an occasion of 
so much sorrow, not only to its own members, but the whole 
community. 




Resolved , That the presiding officer of this Institute be 
instructed to enclose a copy of these resolutions, together with 
the proceedings of this meeting, to the family of the deceased. 

The paper having been read, William H. Young, Esq., arose 
and seconded the resolutions, and paid the following tribute to 
the lamented Arctic explorer : 

Mr. Chairman : The announcement of the death of Dr. Kane, 
though not unexpected, comes, nevertheless, right home to all 
our hearts. I cannot at this moment call to memory the name 
of anv one in all this broad land whose death would strike a 

t/ 

chord so sympathetic or so universal as that of this young man. 
I know no name that has become so fondly familiar in the hearts 
and homes of the people as his. Admiration at the gallant story 
of his life, honor and applause for the noble discharge of duty, 
do not express the deeper feelings with which he w r as regarded. 
The affectionate esteem which usually attends only w 7 arm personal 
attachment can alone adequately represent the sentiment enter- 
tained for him by those who, though they knew not his person, 
responsively yielded their affections to the holy instincts of his 
inner life and nature. His high ambition, his noble zeal, his 
indomitable energy, were so blended with the honest frankness 
of his disposition, the tenderness of his love, the generous 
sympathy of his heart — and all so resplendent — and so enlisted 
in the success of the enterprises to which he had lent the fullness 
of his mind, as to distinguish a character to which his friends 
could desire nothing added. His name will ever be associated 
with that of Lady Franklin, and with her undying devotion and 
love. Unto the untiring hope and prayerful perseverance of that 


noble English woman he seemed almost to have wedded himself. 
Cordial and tender were the sympathies that had grown op 
between them, and her widowed heart is yet to grieve over his 
untimely death as though another of her own best loved ones 
has been torn from her arms. 

He devoted the early years of his manhood to danger, to toil 
and to suffering for a purpose almost hopeless, yet no man called 
him rash. He sacrificed fortune, health, and life itself that a 
very shadow might assume reality, and men looked on amazed 
yet admiring, silent yet exulting. Never did expedition leave 
the shores of its home blessed with so many prayers as those 
which followed the Arctic on her last voyage. Never did the 
public mind more anxiously wait for a result, or more ardently 
hope for its safety. And when those sent to their succor brought 
the brave crew back to their own land again, the world breathed 
freer for a while, and the universal heart uttered a prayer of 
thanksgiving. 

And now but a brief year has passed, and we have met here 
to pay a last tribute to his memory, feebly to express our sense 
of the loss the world has sustained in his death, and to mingle 
our heartfelt sorrow with that which the brave and generous 
every where must feel at the event. 

Dr. Kane has died early in manhood. His career though 
short, was eventful and memorable. Forbearance, devotion, 
sacrifice, submission to toil and the endurance of privation, were 
the features of his living, but heroic courage and dauntless 
energy gave crowning glories to his young life, and now bring 
hallowed memories to consecrate his early grave. His was an 
exalted and earnest nature, with an inborn right to immortality. 




How greatly hath he achieved it ! Science had no worthier 
worshipper, humanity no more devoted spirit. Loyal to duty, 
he had genius to conceive and power to perform. Pure of heart, 
truthful and generous, the hearts of those around him gathered 
close to his. The humblest of the gallant crew who shared his 
fortunes through the long, frozen nights of Arctic winters, felt 
cheerier in his presence, and happier at the sound of his voice. 
He was unostentatious, and in his manner modest even as became 
the high behests of his great nature. The friends who knew him 
best, and the dear ones at home, forget the claims of his mere 
achievements in the love more precious which these golden quali- 
ties inspired. In more than one land his death shall be celebrated 
by throbbing breasts and tearful eyes ; and his memory shall be 
embalmed in the hearts of the good of both sexes, and of every 
age and of every clime. 

The history of his brief life presents a bright example to his 
young countrymen — a beautiful memory for the grateful homage 
of his brothers in the service. 

We could have wished that his enterprises had been crowned 
with fuller success — not, indeed for his fame’s sake, for the glory 
of his name is secure — but to have made more complete his own 
happiness. But he heeds not these things now. He hath laid 
himself down with the brave to sleep. Death hath kissed him 
with lips colder than the north wind’s breath. Life, with its 
behests and hopes, is over. He lives with the immortal dead. 

The Hon. John P. Kennedy, a member of the Institute, then 
arose and gave an interesting account of his past official relations 
to the deceased. Mr. Kennedy said that he did not rise to speak 
with the idea of adding to the impressiveness of the occasion, 


mg. il l ), it i m u v» 

47 


nor to the eloquence of the gentlemen who had preceded him ; 
but he felt that he could not permit the opportunity to pass with- 
out saying a single word of the late Dr. Kane. His feelings 
upon hearing of his death — feelings in common with those of the 
entire community impelled him to do this. He knew him 
intimately — as intimately, doubtless, as any person ; his official 
position drawing him into the closest intercourse with him when 
the expedition was first projected. He had seen him on his 
return from the first expedition with De Haven. 

It was known to the gentlemen present that Mr. Grinnell, of 
New York, had projected the second expedition ; also that Mr. 
Peabody had contributed very materially to the fitting out of 
the enterprise ; nevertheless, much aid was required which neither 
of these liberal gentlemen could supply. There were certain 
specific aids required which the Navy Department could alone 
produce ; and it was while he (the speaker) was at the head of 
that department that he found an occasion to do for him all that 
Dr. Kane asked for, or could have required. That department 
had contributed many facilities towards the success of the peri- 
lous undertaking. 

Whilst Dr. Kane was at Washington engaged in the work, 
Mr. Kennedy, upon witnessing such a constant and intense 
application of his powers, was obliged to interpose, and beg him, 
for his own sake, not to continue such undying, unwearied 
exertions, as they must certainly result in entire physical prostra- 
tion, and thus unfit him for the great work which lay before him ; 
but to no purpose. Night and day the young and ardent 
explorer was bent upon nothing but the burning desire to go to 
the relief of Sir John Franklin. 


48 


It was at that time that Dr. Kane developed such an indomi- 
table spirit, which rendered him equal to every emergency, and 
enabled him to grapple with the most perplexing difficulties. 
Indeed he had scarcely got permission from his physician to 
leave his bed before he had gone to New York, spread the sails 
of his little brig, and was off' on his mission of benevolence. 

Mr. Kennedy was fearful of the result — fearful that the 
fatigue and constant exposure consequent upon that errand would 
prove too great for his health. When Dr. Kane returned he 
wrote several letters to the speaker, and afterwards frequently 
called to see him for the purpose of consulting with him upon the 
subject of another expedition. He was not satisfied with the 
last one . 

When Mr. Kennedy was about leaving this country on a visit 
to Europe, Dr. Kane told him to see Lady Franklin, and tell 
her that his health would hardly admit of his complying with her 
request. Mr. Kennedy, on returning home found Dr. Kane 
determined to see Lady Franklin in person, and he accordingly 
went to Europe. The fact was that the English Admiralty had 
tendered him the command of an English expedition to the 
Arctic regions, and Dr. Kane said to the speaker Was there 
ever such a compliment paid to our officers ? How, then, could 
I refuse?” He was perfectly convinced that Dr. Kane went to 
Europe for the purpose of accepting the offer, provided he could 
reconcile such an act with his friends at home. 

The history of Dr. Kane was already written. He had fully 
determined to find out the problem of an open sea, and the result 
proved him to be right. His prophecies were found true, and it 
was through him that we now know that it exists. Not satisfied 



with his own vision, he called to him one of his associates, that 
he might accompany him, saying : “ I feel obliged to depend 

upon the evidence of another person to prove that the open sea 
is not a mere optical illusion.” 

He told Mr. Kennedy that Lady Franklin had written him, 
requesting him to make still another expedition in search of her 
long lost husband, but, said he, “ My mother objects , and with 
me that is the heaviest obstacle in the way.” 

Dr. Kane was the subject of general remark in England and 
France; and when Mr. Kennedy was in the former country the 
officers of the admiralty gave him a number of charts, frankly 
telling him all the recent additions to them were made by Dr. 
Kane’s expedition. Laying aside all other’s, they attached more 
reliability to his own. They had accepted all observations as the 
basis of their reports, and they would prove the imperishable 
monuments of his renown and honor. 

No man of the present day could be compared to the deceased. 
His gentleness, kindness and modesty of demeanor had endeared 
him to every one. Never was there a gentler spirit, and none 
more robust. He shrunk from no hardship ; he combined the 
courtesy of Sidney with the ruggedness of Smith, and faithfully 
associated science with the romance of the seas. All his traits 
of character were heightened by the noble generosity which 
always proved him ready to assist a friend, and were calculated 
so much to excite the admiration of his fellow men. 

But he had gone To a happier sphere; men so richly endowed 
as he was were not doomed to everlasting death. The memory 
of Dr. Kane would live so long as the pulse of man was animated 
by his breath. 


4 



50 


After a few remarks from N. H. Thayer, Esq., the resolutions 
were adopted. 

Upon motion the Mayor was then directed to appoint the com- 
mittee of twenty-five, which he did. 

On motion of Mr. Kennedy, the chairman was added to the 
committee. 

The following gentlemen compose the committee : 

Hon. JOSHUA VANSANT, 

Hon. JOHN P. KENNEDY, 

JAMES M. ANDERSON, 

JAMES MURRAY, 

JNO. ROGERS, 

WILLIAM H. YOUNG, 

ADAM DENMEAD, 

REVERDY JOHNSON, 

JOHNS HOPKINS, 

J. CRAWFORD NEILSON, 

SAMUEL IIINDES, 

GEORGE A. DAVIS, 

D. L. BARTLETT. 

Upon the motion of John Dukehart, Esq., the meeting then 
adjourned. 

The City authorities of Baltimore took active measures to 
do honor to Dr. Kane, and to share in the public demonstra- 
tions. And during the whole progress of the remains through 
the Great Valley of the Mississippi, the Ohio, and of Virginia; 
and wherever it was expected they would be taken, there was a 
generous rivalry in efforts to express public and private regret 
for the loss of such a man. 



JNO. DUKEHART, 

HUGH A. COOPER, 
THOMAS TRIMBLE, 
WILLIAM H. KEIGHLER, 
WENDELL BOLLMAN, 

T. M. CONRADT, 
SAMUEL SANDS, 
CAMPBELL MORFIT, 
HUGH BOLTON, 
LAWRENCE SANGSTON, 
GEORGE W. ANDREWS, 
ROBERT LESLIE, 


51 


On the morning of Wednesday, the 11th, the remains of Dr. 
Kane were, with great solemnity, removed from the Hall of the 
Maryland Institute, and conveyed with becoming accompany- 
ment to the depot of the Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad, 
under the immediate direction of the following named gentlemen : 

Hon. JOSHUA VANSANT, JOHN DUKE HART, 

HUGH A. COOPER, THOMAS TRIMBLE, 

JOHN RODGERS. 


With them was the delegation from the Philadelphia Joint 
Committee of Arrangements. At Elkton, Md., a Committee 
from the Masonic Order, and the citizens of Wilmington, Del., 
were introduced to the delegation. This Committee consisted 
of the following named persons : 


Capt. GEORGE N. HOLLINS, 
CHRISTIAN RAUCH, 
WILLIAM JORDAN, 

D. W. BABE, 


CHARLES STEWARD, 
Dr, J. WHITE, 

J. S. VALENTINE, 
Dr. JOHN SIMMS. 


At Wilmington, Del., and at Chester, Pa., the stopping 
places of the cars, thousands of citizens were assembled to do 
honor to the deceased. 


A hasty glance at the public proceedings of citizens and cor- 
porations of cities and States, on the occasion of the arrival of 
the remains of Dr. Kane, has been taken. No attempt has been 
made to record all ; a volume would not contain them. It 
seemed sufficient to note the particular points at which it was 
necessary for the boats or cars containing the body of Dr. Kane, 
to rest, and to refer, in most cases generally, to the proceedings 
in reference to the distinguished dead. 


But demonstrations of high respect were not limited to pro- 
cessions with the body. They were provided for wherever it was 
supposed the remains would pass, especially at Pittsburgh, in this 
State. In the legislature of the State, most appropriate 
and eloquent tributes were paid to the gifted son of Pennsylva- 
nia. In the legislature of New York, and of Massachusetts, 
and in almost all the Scientific Associations of the country, 
special action was had with regard to the eminent services and 
early death of Dr. Kane. As among the most touching 
memorials of deep affection and ineffaceable gratitude for the 
dead, may he cited the resolutions adopted at a meeting of the 
companions of Dr. Kane in his Arctic Expedition, which are sub- 
joined : — 

PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMPANIONS OF DR. KANE. 

The surviving members of the late Arctic Expedition, met at 
the La Pierre House, on Friday evening, for the purpose of 
taking such action as might be deemed appropriate in view of 
the regretted death of their late Commander, Dr. E. K. Kane. 

The meeting was called to order by calling Dr. I. J. Hayes 
to the Chair, and appointing Mr. Amos Bonsall, Secretary. On 
calling the meeting to order, Dr. Hayes said, in explanation of 
their object in coming together, — 

We little thought, comrades, when Ave so often spoke of the j 
meetings we would have upon our return home, that the first ! 
would be to mourn the loss of our brave commander. Through 
dangers he has often led us. Again we are called to follow him; 
but the circumstances, how different ! There we followed him 




through paths forced over a trackless waste by his own energy. 
Now, Death is our pilot. It is hard to realize that he is indeed 
dead. He was one of those with whom you could scarcely asso- 
ciate the thought. But the tears of a sorrowing and grateful 
people assure us that it is too true. The bright star we have 
all so often seen just flickering on the verge of the horizon, has 
gone down. The frail force which held it to this earth is broken. 
That soul so strong, that body so weak, too much in antagonism 
long to remain together. Alas ! we shall never know the one 
but by its influence upon our lives, nor see the other but by its 
impress upon our memories. 

But I will not anticipate you. Let us show in some way uni- 
tedly, our appreciation of his services while living, and our sor- 
row at his death. 

Mr. George Stephenson, offered the following resolutions, 
which were unanimously adopted — 

Resolved , That we have received with pain the sad intelli- 
gence of the death of our late honored Commander, Elisha Kent 
Kane, and embrace this the earliest opportunity of unitedly ex- 
pressing our sorrow. 

Resolved , That while we join with our countrymen and the 
citizens of his native State in paying tribute to the memory of 
one who had already achieved so much for the world’s good and 
the nation’s glory — knowing him as we did well through scenes 
which try men’s moral nature — our hearts mourn the loss of 
those high qualities which endeared him to us as captain, comrade 
and friend. We found him wise in council, clear in judgment, 
bold in danger, fearless in execution ; ever alive to the calls of 



54 


humanity ; with a firm faith in the protecting care of an overru- 
ling Providence, which gave him moral power to rise above 
physical weakness, filled him at all times with cheerful hope, 
and imbued him with almost superhuman strength — and w T e hold 
his name in grateful remembrance. 

Resolved , That we do deeply sympathize with his bereaved 
family, knowing full well that great as is the loss to us of one 
possessing so many manly virtues, greater still must it be to 
those who held to him a nearer relation. 

Resolved , That as the only means now left us of showing our 
respect for the memory that lingers sadly yet brightly with us, 
we will, in a body, follow his remains to their last resting place, 
in such position as may be assigned us by the Committee of 
Arrangements. 

Resolved , That the Secretary be directed to forward to the 
family of the deceased a copy of these resolutions, signed by all 
the members. 

The meeting then adjourned. 

I. J. HAYES, President . 

AMOS BONSALL, Secretary . 

DEPUTATIONS FROM OTHER CITIES. 

A committee of fourteen members from both branches of the 
Common Council of the City of New York, arrived in Philadel- 
phia to manifest the sympathy of that city in the great loss, and 
her high appreciation of the services and character of Dr. Kane ; 
this delicate attention on the part of a sister city, was beautifully 


55 


consistent with the liberality of one of her distinguished citizens, 
to whom Dr. Kane w T as indebted for much encouragement and 
liberal contributions of means to undertake and accomplish his 
great Arctic expedition. These gentlemen, with the committees 
from other cities, were formally received by a sub-com- 
mittee, and became the guests of the City of Philadelphia. 
Such was the expression of respect to Dr. Kane from all parts 
of the Union, such the proceedings in cities through which the 
remains of our townsman passed, such the voluntary, the spon- 
taneous expression of regard for the services and memory of the 
good and great. And while these honors in other places were, 
to the passing body, thus distinguished, here in Philadelphia, 
where was his home in life, and where was prepared his resting 
place in death, the proper reception of the honorable deposit and 
the vigilant guard of the sacred remains ought to be followed by 
such public solemnities as would enable the authorities and people 
to express their sense of the respect paid to the memory of their 
townsman elsewhere, and the appreciation of the honor conferred 
on them by the heroic services of the deceased in the cause of 
science and philanthropy. 

PROCEEDINGS OF JOINT COMMITTEE RESUMED. 

The Committee, impressed with the importance of complete 
arrangements and the preservation of order in all the public 
proceedings deemed it necessary to make an early appointment 
of a Marshal, who should advise with them in the formation of 
a procession, and execute the plan adopted, and they unani- 
mously selected Peter C. Ellmaker, Esq., as Marshal in Chief, 
with authority to appoint Aids and Assistant Marshals. 




From the many who hastened to offer their services as under- 
takers, the Committee selected for the duties of that place, Mr. 
William H. Moore. 

With reference to military escort and guard of honor, the 
Committee adopted the following resolutions : 

Resolved , That the offer of the services of the Artillery Corps 
of the Washington Greys, by Capt. Thomas P. Parry, be 
accepted — to act as a Guard of Honor on the occasion — if 
consistent with the arrangements of the Naval and Military 
authorities. 

On motion of Mr. Thomas, it was 

Resolved , That if consistent with the orders of the command- 
ing officer, the First City Troop of Cavalry, Capt. James, he 
invited to act as a body guard on the occasion of the reception 
of the remains of the late Dr. Kane, and escort the same to 
Independence Hall. 

It was further Resolved , That the commanding officer of the 
First Division Pennsylvania Volunteers be requested to detail a 
brigade, to act as a military escort on the occasion, in addition 
to the companies mentioned in the foregoing resolutions ; and 
that all the officers of the Division not on duty be invited to 

attend the solemnities in uniform. 

* 

On learning that the remains of Dr. Kane had reached Balti- 
more, the Joint Committee of Arrangement dispatched a delega- 
tion from their number, to proceed to that city and accompany 
them hither, the remains to be still in the care of the Committee 
of Baltimore. 

The Directors of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Balti- 
more Railroad Company promptly and generously offered every 



57 


facility for conveying the Committee to Baltimore and bringing 
thence the body of Dr. Kane and those who should attend upon 
it ; and the kind olfer having been thankfully accepted, the 
Directors placed two cars at the disposal of the Committee, who 
had declined accepting, as less sure and expeditious, the alterna- 
tive of a “ special train.” 

The remains of Dr. Kane were brought to the depot at the 
corner of Broad and Prime streets, at five o’clock on the afternoon 
of Monday, the 11th of March, accompanied by some members 
of the mourning family, and under the care of a committee 
consisting of the following named gentlemen, appointed by the 
Maryland Institute of Baltimore : 

MESSRS. JOHN DUKEHART, JOHN RODGERS, 

HUGH A. COOPER, THOMAS TRIMBLE, 

JOSHUA VANSANT. 


The Joint Committee proceeded to the depot to meet the 
remains, and they caused them to be taken thence and conveyed 
to the Hall of Independence, in the following order : 

Officers of the Police. 

First and Second Divisions of Police. 
Washington Greys — CAPT. PARRY. 


The First City Troop — CAPT. JAMES — acting as Guard 

of Honor . 


w 

o 


w 

hi 

O 


Ph 


PH 

O 

O 

Ph 

EH 



p4 

o 

hi 

o 

Ph 



58 

CITY TROOP. 

COMPANIONS OF DR. KANE IN THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 

\ , 

\ 

COMMITTEE OF CITY COUNCILS. 

COMMITTEE FROM MARYLAND INSTITUTE. 

COMMITTEE FROM CINCINNATI. 

COMMITTEES OF VARIOUS BODIES, FROM WILMINGTON AND OTHER 

PLACES. 

THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED BY THE TOWN MEETING. 

THE COMMITTEE FROM THE CORN EXCHANGE. 

A BODY OF THE CITY POLICE CONSISTING OF SEVERAL HUNDRED 

MEN, DETAILED BY THE MAYOR. 

The body of Dr. Kane thus escorted, was placed in the Hall 
of Independence, the coffin resting on a pedestal and covered 
with a pall, and overlaid with the flag of the United States. 

The committee were indebted to Mr. Peter Mackenzie, for 
many splendid wreaths formed of the choicest flowers, decorating 
the covering of the remains. 

When the coffin was properly disposed in the Hall, Mr. Duke- 
hart, the Chairman of the delegation who attended the remains 
from Baltimore, resigned to the Philadelphia Committee the 
solemn charge, remarking : 

Mr. Chairman : — In behalf of the citizens of Baltimore, I am 
now to deliver to your charge the remains of our late deceased 
fellow member, the late Elisha Kent Kane. I commit to you his 
remains in his native city — in his native State — in the Hall 
consecrated to the cause of liberty — in this Hall which may be 


59 


truly termed the Mecca of all those who first promulgated the 
great truth that man was constituted for self-government. 

I surrender to you, in his native city, the remains of our late 
brother, I may be permitted to say it is with deep regret, 
and that you cannot exclusively call him yours. We felt, whilst 
he was with us — whilst he was in our city, that we bestowed all 
the attention that was possible for us to do. Although this is 
his native city, and his native State, his fame extends throughout 
the civilized world. In the icy regions where he sacrificed him- 
self in the cause of humanity, even the wild Esquimaux will 
hand down from father to son, the name of the deceased. Time 
will never obliterate the name of one who administered so much 
to their comfort, while himself suffering so much for the cause of 
humanity and science. Permit me now, gentlemen, on behalf of 
the city and of the citizens of Baltimore, in this Hall, consecrated 
to liberty, to commit to your charge the remains of Elisha Kent 
Kane, who sacrificed his life in the cause of humanity. 

Mr. Chandler as Chairman of the Joint Committee of 
Arrangements, received the sacred deposit with the following 
remarks : 

In the name of the corporation and citizens of Philadelphia, I 
receive from your committee these precious remains, and in their 
name I thank you and those whom you represent for the honors 
you have conferred upon one who has so honored his native city. 
While we know that it was from your abilities to appreciate 
excellence that you have distinguished yourselves by munificent 
consideration of the great departed, we, as Philadelphians, feel 


that while our city enjoys a reflected lustre from the fame of our 
townsman, we must assume the obligations w T hich your generous 
attentions create. 

You have brought back to us the mortal remains of one who 
has achieved early immortality, and he returns in the fulfilment 
of the alternative of the Spartan mother’s direction to her son, 
“ if not behind , at least upon his shield.” Nay, more, a Chris- 
tian mother’s cares are rewarded and her hopes more than 
realized in the life of a son devoted to science and philanthropy, 
and in that death whose hopes took hold on eternity. 

Renewing to you the assurance of profound gratitude for the 
honors conferred upon these remains in your city, and augmented 
by your presence here, this committee receive the sacred trust, 
and will watch over the body until it reaches its final resting 
place in the grave. 

Mr. Chandler then placed the remains under the care of the 
company of Washington Greys who had volunteered to act as a 
guard of honor, and addressing Capt. Parry, their Commander, 
he said — 

Captain Parry, on behalf of the Committee of Arrangements, 
I now announce to you that they have determined to place under 
your guard the remains of one so cherished by us all, as a Phila- 
delphian and a philanthropist. We trust that you will exercise 
a strict guardianship during the night, and restore to the Com- 
mittee the sacred trust which has been confided to your charge. 

To which Captain Parry replied : 

“I assure you, Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the corps which I 



KEKS3R 


WITS 


►rc ar aro i 


61 


have the honor to command, and which you have selected for the 
guardianship of the remains of the lamented Dr. Kane, that we 
are proud to accept your commission, and I need not say, on 
my own part, that I reply to you with all the emotion which may 
become a man. We will vigilantly guard the remains during the 
night, and return them to you in the morning as pure and 
unsullied as when we received them.” 

On Wednesday evening and on Thursday morning, many 
hundred citizens were admitted to the Hall of Independence. 
At 10 o’clock Captain Parry and his Company were relieved 
from further duties as a guard of honor. Captain Parry in a 
few appropriate remarks resigned his charge, and received from 
Mr. Cuyler the thanks of the Committee for the services which 
he and his corps had rendered. A splendid wreath of costly 
flowers was presented to the committee accompanied by the sub- 
joined note : 


“ TO THE MEMORY OF DR. E. K. KANE.” 


FROM TWO LADIES. 


These were deposited on the coffin with the rich offering of 
Mr. Mackenzie before noticed. 

At noon precisely, the Military under Brigadier General 
George Cadwalader, having been formed on Walnut street, Chief 
Marshal Ellmaker, proceeded with his Aids and Assistant Mar- 
shals, to form the funeral procession according to the programme 
which had been adopted by the Committee of Arrangements. 

The coffin was borne by a detachment of seamen of the United 





62 


States Navy, from the Hall of Independence down the centre 
walk of Independence square to Walnut street, where it was 
received with appropriate honors by the military, and was then 
placed upon the funeral car prepared expressly for the occasion, 
twelve feet in length and five in breadth, setting on low wheels 
concealed by the rich drapery suspending from the side of the car. 
On the four corners were upright spears with golden heads, and 
around these were entwined the American, the British, the 
Spanish, and the Danish flags, craped. Above the centre of the 
car was a dome of black cloth with white stripes, and from the 
canopy extended bands attached to the top of the spears at the 
four corners. 

The dome was ornamented with white stars, and trimmed with 
white cord. The inside of the canopy was lined with white silk. 
The coffin being placed in the centre of the car, the American 
flag was thrown around it, and the garlands of flowers and the 
sword of the deceased were placed gracefully on the bier. The 
car was drawn by six black horses, each being attended by a 
groom appropriately attired. 

FIKST 3DX-VXSI03ST. 

This division was headed by a strong body of police detailed 
by the Mayor to secure an unobstructed path to the cortege. 
The body was headed by the High Constables of the city, and 
although the route of procession, covering a large extent of the 
central portion of the city, was densely packed with spectators, 
universal order prevailed. The police were also distributed 
along the line of the procession. 


The Military escort, consisting of the First Brigade, made an 
exceedingly credible and imposing display. The Brigade com- 
prised the following companies : — Squadron Cavalry, T. C. James; 
1st City Troop, Capt, James; 1st City Cavalry, Capt. Baker; 
Artillery Battallion, Lieut. Col. Biles, Commandant; Washing- 
ton Greys, Capt. Parry ; Philadelphia Greys, Capt. Rush ; 
Cadwalader Greys, Capt. Breece; National Artillery, Captain 
Murphy. 

1st Regiment Infantry, Col. Wm. D. Lewis, Jr., Commandant 
— State Fencibles, Capt. Page ; Washington Blues, Capt. Gos- 
line ; National Guards, Capt. Lyle ; Independent Greys, Capt. 
Braceland ; Independent Guards, Capt. Cromley ; Washington 
Guards, Capt. Wagner. 


SECOisriD iDi'V'isioisr 






Was preceded by William H. Moore, undertaker. Then 
followed the Funeral Car and procession, in the following order : 


c 3 

> 

o 

IS 3? 
O c3 

O <D 
_ r P 
P c3 
ps & 

P pH 

o 

Ph 

o 

o 

u 

EH 



Pall Bearers. 


Pall Bearers. 

Governor Pollock, 


Samuel Grant, Esq., 

Hon. Horace Binned, 

• 

Henry Grinnell, 

Commodore Stewart, 

H 

Commodore Read, 

Major C. J. Biddle, 
Bishop Potter, 

« 

< 

H 

Doctor Dillard, U. S. A., 

Chief Justice Lewis, 

Ml 

Rev. H. A. Boardman, 

Doctor Dunglison, 

f 

Prof. Hugh L. Hodge, 

J. B. Brown, Esq., 


Wm. B. Reed, Esq. 


CO 

<rt- 

O 

o 

hj O 
cr £ 

t— «• >> 

p s 

p- o 

H-H 

P l-H 

o 

Og 
$ ? 
o 

p 

p 

I— < 


COMRADES OF THE DECEASED IN THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 
COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS. 


64 

COMMITTEE OF THE AUTHORITIES AND CITIZENS OF BALTIMORE. 
COMMITTEE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK. 

REVEREND CLERGY OF THE CITY. 

MAYOR AND RECORDER. 

HEADS OF THE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS. 

OFFICERS OF COUNCILS. 

PRESIDENTS OF SELECT AND COMMON COUNCILS. 

SELECT COUNCIL, 

COMMON COUNCIL. 

EX-MEMBERS OF SELECT AND COMMON COUNCILS. 

ALDERMEN OF THE CITY. 

DEPUTIES AND CLERKS OF THE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE 

CITY. 

REPORTERS OF THE PRESS. 

OFFICERS OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT. 

THE SOCIETIES OF THE SONS OF ST. GEORGE AND ALBION. 

THE HIBERNIAN SOCIETY, THE ST. ANDREW’S AND SCOTS THISTLE 

SOCIETIES. 

OFFICERS OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY, NAVY AND MARINE 

CORPS. 

REPRESENTATIVES OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS AND OTHER DIS- 
TINGUISHED STRANGERS. 

JUDGES AND OFFICERS OF THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER COURTS. 

OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL 

SOCIETY. 

OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL 

SCIENCES. 

WARDENS OF THE PORT. 



65 


The remainder of the Division paraded in the following 
order : 

THIRD BlVISIOlSr- 

MARSHAL OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF 
PENNSYLVANIA, HIS DEPUTIES AND ASSISTANTS. 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 

COLLECTOR, NAVAL OFFICER AND SURVEYOR OF THE PORT, POST- 
MASTER, AND OTHER OFFICERS OF THE UNITED STATES 

GOVERNMENT. 

DIRECTOR AND TREASURER, OFFICERS AND WORKMEN OF THE 

UNITED STATES MINT. 

MEMBERS AND EX-MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. 

HIGH SHERIFF OF THE CITY AND COUNTY, AND OTHER CITY AND 

COUNTY OFFICERS. 

PHYSICIANS. 

MEMBERS OF THE BAR. 

OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE CORN EXCHANGE. 
OFFICERS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA MILITIA NOT ON DUTY. 

FOURTH XDX-VXSIOlsr- 

MEDICAL FACULTY AND STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

MEDICAL FACULTY, THE GRADUATING CLASS, AND THE STUDENTS 
OF THE JEFFERSON MEDICAL COLLEGE OF PHILADELPHIA. 

OFFICERS AND STUDENTS OF OTHER MEDICAL SOCIETIES. 
PHILADELPHIA COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY. 

OFFICERS AND UNDER GRADUATES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

PRESIDENT, DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS OF GIRARD COLLEGE. 

PRINCIPAL AND FACULTY OF THE HIGH SCHOOL. 

THE MUSICAL FUND SOCIETY. 

CONTROLLERS OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

5 


66 


FIFTH IDI^TISXOnsr. 

THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. 

I. 0. of 0. F. 




YOUNG MEN’S AMERICAN CLUB. 
AMERICAN PROTESTANT ASSOCIATION. 
ANCIENT ORDER OF DRUIDS. 

sixth: idi-visiotsT- 

CITIZENS. 

POLICE. 


The procession which moved up Walnut street to Seventeenth 
street, up Seventeenth to Arch, and down Arch to Seventh 
street, terminated at the Second Presbyterian Church, North 
Seventh street ; and, as it was impossible for any considerable 
proportion of the procession to obtain admittance to the Church, 
the public demonstration was considered as terminating on the 
arrival at this place. The remains were then taken from the 
hearse and conveyed through the south gate of the enclosure, to 
the elevation in front of the Church, and while they lay in that 
position, with the pall bearers formed in a semi circle in the rear, 
the whole procession passed uncovered down Seventh street, in 
view of the coffin. Few scenes have ever been presented of 
more solemn grandeur. The body then was conveyed into the 
Church, accompanied on each side by the pall bearers, and 
followed by the companions of Dr. Kane in the Arctic Expedi- 
tion, the Committee of Arrangement, the Councils of the City, 


g JML g U P g 



the Committees from other cities, the Officers of the Navy, and 
other citizens. 

The exercises in the Church commenced with the singing of an 
anthem from Mozart : “ I Heard a Voice from Heaven.” 

Then came the following beautiful and impressive invocation, 
delivered by the Rev. Mr. Wadsworth : 

“ Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty ! The sinless and 
adoring seraphims veil their faces and cry, Holy ! We are 
worms of the dust, sinful, miserable, unworthy, and to us 
Thou art ever terrible in the glory of Thy holiness, Thou, who 
hast Thy way in the whirlwind, and around whose feet are thick 
clouds and darkness. And now, more than is Thy wont, Thou 
seemest terrible to us in Thy forthgoings in judgment. We lift 
the eye, and behold a Throne set in the Heavens, and out of it 
proceed lightnings, and thunderings, and voices ; and before it 
the pestilence and burning coals at its feet, and the smile 
seems gone from Thine awful face ; and Thou seemest wroth 
with us, and Thou art terrible in Thine anger. Death ! death, 
has cast its shadow on us, and this, Thy glorious Temple; this 
Bethel where the Heavenly ladder lifts ; this altar, side where the 
Shechina dwells, this blessed Father’s House, where we have 
met Thy Sabbath smiles, alas ! it is darkened now into a house 
of mourning. We are smitten, we are afflicted; the spirit 
wounded ; the heart broken. One we loved; one we honored; 
one, it may be, too dear to our affections ; one we parted with in 
fond hope, has come again to our sanctuary, the eye closed, the 
heart pulseless ; and we stand by Thine holy altar stricken, 
terrified, in the awful presence of God and Death. 


68 


We think of Thee, and are afraid. Oh, Thou Almighty ! 
Thy ways are fearful. We are on the water, and the night is 
dark, and the poor bark is tempest-tossed, and even the form of 
the Redeemer, walking the billows, seems phantom-like and 
dreadful, as it were a Spirit, and we stand back fearful and 
trembling from Thine awful path, Thou God of chastening ; 
and yet, into Thy presence, Oh, our God, we come for com- 
forting. Amid all Thy stern and terrible manifestations, we 
know Thou art merciful. With clouds and darkness around 
Thee, and the pestilence, and the burning coals at Thy feet, 
Thou art still our Father, our Heavenly Father. Father, 
pitiful of Thy children ; the bruised reed not breaking it ; 
the smoking flax not quenching it. Thy glorious titles are, 
Father, Redeemer, Comforter, and there is no sorrow Thou 
canst not take away ; no storm Thou canst not still ; no Marah 
in the wilderness, Thou canst not make sweet as the living water. 

And in this, our hour of chastening, we come to Thee for 
comfort. We have no where else to go. The world can not 
comfort us. The glory of man seems a fading flower ; and the 
voices of earth seem mournful in the shadow of the grave. But 

4 > 

Thou canst comfort ; and we come to Thee in trustful love and 
faith. We come to sit at Thy feet ; to look up into Thy face ; 
to cast ourselves, stricken and sorrowful, into Thy gentle arms. 
Father, our Father! look upon us mercifully. Thou knowest 
where the thorn pierces. Oh, lift the load from the wounded 
heart, Oh, bind up tenderly the wounded spirit. 

We are here in Thy Temple, where Thy voice is heard. 
Speak to us, Oh, Thou Eternal One, gently, tenderly, lovingly. 
Speak the words which man cannot utter ; the words of eternal 



life. Tell us of the Resurrection, the Immortality, the Heaven. 
Make us to believe, that though this dear eye is shrouded, this 
dear heart cold in death, yet the beloved spirit that made the 
eye to sparkle, and the heart to bound, lives still, lives still! 
Thanks, thanks, for the hopes so glorious, so full of eternal life, 
that cluster around this shrouded dust, hopes that our be- 
loved one is even now more than conqueror through that Re- 
deemer who died for him. Oh, give fuller power to our faith. 
Father, Heavenly Father ! utter with Thy glorious voice Thine 
own glorious oracles. Speak to us of the Resurrection and the 
Life. Tell us of the gates of pearl, and the trees of life in the 
midst of the garden ; of the palms and white robes, and songs of 
victory ; of the thrones of power, and the diadems of splendor ; 
of the places prepared in the House of many mansions ; “ and 
the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” Father, 
our Heavenly Father ! we are listening for Thy blessed voice. 
Oh, speak to us ! Speak to us gently, joyfully, till faith grows 
strong in our stricken spirits ; so that time seeming the vapor, 
and eternity the reality, we may look not down upon this sleep- 
ing dust, saying, farewell, but the rather upward to the risen 
Spirit in the firmament, saying — All hail ! redeemed one. Oh, 
comfort us, Thou Heavenly Comforter ; Thou merciful Saviour, 
in whom, “ whosoever liveth and believeth, shall never die.” 
Thou Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, fill 
our stricken hearts with Thine own glorious grace, so that we may 
go forth as Mary, to find the grave of our beloved, lustrous 

4 

with the vision of angel, and write over it no sadder words 
than these, u Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord,” 
whilst our song of triumphant faith, begun here in tears, 



70 


shall go on in Eternity, “ unto Him who loved us, and washed us 
in His own blood, and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God 
and His Father,” be glory and honor forever and ever. Amen. 

The same Divine also read the selection — 

• 

u I am the resurrection and the life ; he that belie veth in me, 
though he were dead, yet shall he live. Blessed are the dead 
who die in the Lord,” &c. 

The hymn, “ Hark to the Solemn Bell,” was then sung by the 
choir. 

The Rev. Charles W. Shields, Pastor of the Church, then 
delivered the following 



It is a noble instinct which prompts us to honour the dead. 
Humanity joins with religion in suppressing all earthly distinc- 
tions and passions at the mouth of the tomb. The mansion may 
be envied, the hovel may be scorned, but the grave is alike 
revered, whether it be adorned with sculptured marble or decked 
with a simple flower. 

It would seem that in the mortal remains of a fellow creature 
we respect a fate that we know must soon be our own, and con- 
scious of the worth of a soul, would do homage even to the 
ruined temple in which it was enshrined. 

But when the object of such feelings concentrates in himself 
the best traits of our nature, and has been conducted by Provi- 
dence to an eminence from which he illustrates them in the view 



A 


V 



w > wwbmwmaijw i mjp »* 2 Zjmi 2 ± 

72 


memories and choicest honours. Now, at last, we bear them — 
thankful to the Providence by which they have been preserved 
from mishap and peril — to the sacred altar at which he was reared. 

I do not forget, my friends, the severer solemnities of the 
place and Presence. I remind you of their claim. How empty 
the applause of mortals as vaunted in the ear of Heaven ! How 
idle the distinctions among creatures involved in a common insig- 
nificance by death and sin ! What a mockery the flimsy shows 
with which we cover up the realities of judgment and eternity ! 
The thought may well temper the pride of our grief — yet it need 
not staunch its flow. No: I should but feel that the goodness of 
that God, by whose munificent hand his creature was endowed, 
had been wronged, did we not pause to reflect awhile upon his 
virtues, and drop some manly and Christian tears over his early 
grave. 

Elisha Kent Kane — a name now to be pronounced in the 
simple dignity of history — was bred in the lap of science and 
trained in the school of peril, that he might consecrate himself to 
a philanthropic purpose, to which, so young, he has fallen a 
martyr. The story of his life is already a fire-side tale. Multi- 
tudes, in admiring fancy, have retraced its footprints. Now t , 
that that brief career is closed in death, w r e recur to it with a 
mournful fondness, from the daring exploits which formed the 
pastime of his youth, to the graver tasks to w r hich he brought 
his developed manhood. Though born to ease and elegance, 
when but a young student, used to academic tastes and hon- 
ours, we see him breaking away from the refinements of life 
into the rough paths of privation and danger. Through distant 
and varied regions, we follow him in his pursuit of scientific dis- 



73 


covery and adventure. On the borders of China — within the 
unexplored depths of the crater of Luzon — in India and Ceylon — 
in the islands of the Pacific — by the sources of the Nile — amid 
the frowning sphinxes of Egypt, and the classic ruins of Greece — 
along the fevered coast of Africa — on the embattled plains of 
Mexico — we behold him everywhere blending the enthusiasm of 
the scholar with the daring of the soldier and the research of the 
man of science. 

Yet these were but the preparatory trials through which 
Providence was leading him to an object worthy his matured 
powers and noblest aims. Suddenly he becomes a centre of uni- 
versal interest. With the prayers and hopes of his country fol- 
lowing after him, he disappears from the abodes of men, on a 
pilgrimage of patience and love, into the icy solitudes of the 
North. Within the shadow of two sunless winters his fate is 
wrapt from our view. At length, like one come back from 
another world, he returns to thrill us with the marvels of his 
escape, and transport us, by his graphic pen, into scenes we 
scarcely realize as belonging to the earth we inhabit. All classes 
are penetrated and touched by the story so simply, so modestly, 
so eloquently told. The nation takes him to its heart with patri- 
otic pride. In hopeful fancy, a still brighter career is pictured 
before him ; when alas ! the vision, w r hile yet it dazzles, dissolves 
in tears. We awake to the sense of a loss which no cotemporary, 
at his age, could occasion. 

Of that loss let us not here attempt too studious an estimate. 
These sad solemnities may simply point us to the more moral quali- 
ties and actions, in view of which every bereavement most deeply 
affects us. 




74 


As a votary of science, he will indeed receive fitting tributes. 
There will not be wanting those who shall do justice to that 
ardent thirst for truth, which in him amounted to one of the 
controlling passions ; to that intellect so severe in induction, yet 
sagacious in conjecture ; and to those contributions, so various 
and valuable, to the existing stock of human knowledge. But 
his memory will not be cherished alone in philosophic minds. . 
His is not a name to be honoured only within the privileged 
circles of the learned. There is for him another laurel, greener 
even than that which science wreathes for her most gifted sons. 
He is endeared to the popular heart as its chosen ideal of the 
finest sentiment that adorns our earthly nature. 

Philanthropy, considered as among things which are lovely and 
of good report, is the flower of human virtue. Of all the pas- 
sions that have their root in the soil of this present life there is 
none which, when elevated into a conscious duty, is so disinter- 
ested and pure. In the domestic affections, there is something 
of mere blind instinct ; in friendship, there is the limit of conge- 
niality ; in patriotism, there are the restrictions of local attach- 
ment and national antipathy ; but in that love of race which 
seeks its object in man as man, of whatever kindred, creed, 
or clime, earthly morality appears divested of the last 
dross of selfishness, and challenges our highest admiration and 
praise. 

Providence, who governs the world by ideas, selects the fit 
occasions and men for their illustration. In an age when phi- 
lanthropic sentiments, through the extension of Christianity and 
civilization, are on the increase, a fit occasion for their display is 
offered in the peril of a bold explorer, for whose rescue a cry of 


anguished affection rings in the ears of the nations ; and the man 
found adequate to that occasion is he whose death we mourn. 

If there was every thing congruous in the scene of the 
achievement, — laid, as it was, in those distant regions where the 
lines of geography converge beyond all the local distinctions 
that divide and separate man from his fellow, and among rigors 
of cold and darkness, and disease and famine, that would task 
to their utmost the powers of human endurance — not less suited 
was the actor who was to enter upon that scene and enrich the 
world with such a lesson of heroic beneficence. Himself of a 
country estranged from that of the imperilled explorers, the 
simple act of assuming the task of their rescue was a beautiful 
tribute to the sentiment of national amity ; while, as his warrant 
for undertaking it, he seemed lacking in no single qualification. 
To a scientific education and the experience of a cosmopolite, he 

i 

joined an assemblage of moral qualities so rich in their separate 
excellence, and so rare in their combination, it is difficult to 
effect their analysis. 

Conspicuous among them was that elementary virtue in every 
philanthropic mission, an exalted yet minute benevolence . It 
was the crowning charm of his character, and a controlling 
motive in his perilous enterprise. Other promptings indeed there 
were, neither suppressed, nor in themselves to be depreciated. 
That passion for adventure, that love of science, that generous 
ambition, which stimulated his youthful exploits, appear now 
under the check and guidance of a still nobler impulse. It is 
his sympathy with the lost and suffering, and the duteous convic- 
tion that it may lie in his power to liberate them from their icy 
dungeon, which thrill his heart and nerve him to his hardy task. 







In his avowed aim, the interests of geography were to be sub- 
ordinate to the claims of humanity. And neither the entreaties 
of affection, nor the imperilling of a fame, which to a less modest 
spirit would have seemed too precious to hazard, could swerve 
him from the generous purpose. 

And yet this was not a benevolence which could exhaust itself 
in any mere dazzling, visionary project. It was as practical as 
it was comprehensive. It could descend to all the minutiae of 
personal kindness, and gracefully disguise itself even in the most 
menial offices. When defeated in its great object, and forced to 
resign the proud hope of a philanthropist, it turns to lavish itself 
on his suffering comrades, whom he leads almost to forget the 
commander in the friend. With unselfish assiduity and cheerful 
patience he devotes himself as a nurse and counsellor to relieve 
their wants, and buoy them up under the most appalling misfor- 
tunes : and, in those still darker seasons, when the expedition is 
threatened with disorganization, conquers them, not less by kind- 
ness than by address. Does a party withdraw from him under op- 
posite counsels, they are assured, in the event of their return, of 
“ a brother’s welcome.” Is tidings brought him that a portion 
of the little band are forced to halt, he knows not where in the 
snowy desert, he is off through the midnight cold for their rescue, 
and finds his reward in the touching assurance, “ They knew that 
he would come.” In sickness he tends them like a brother, and 
at death drops a tear of manly sensibility in their graves. Even 
the wretched savages, who might be supposed to have forfeited 
the claim, share in his kindly attentions ; and it is almost with a 
touch of tenderness that he parts from them at last, as “ children 
of the same Creator.” 




This lovely trait it is which forms the secret of much of that 
enthusiasm his name elicits, and deepens the universal sorrow 
with which he is lamented. His was a character which, as it 
spontaneously disclosed itself through his writings, attracted all 
the warmth of personal friendship even in the absence of personal 
acquaintance. At many a fireside where his face was never seen, 
he is mentioned in terms of affectionate admiration. Thousands, 
who know nothing of the winning gentleness of his manners, 
feel now that they have lost a friend. To such greatness the 
world does not yield the tribute of a cold respect, but the deep 
and fervid homage of the heart. 

In a cause of humanity like that which he had espoused, we 
feel that something more was needed than the diffuse and aimless 
philanthopy which is loud in panegyric upon human nature, while 
it disdains the details of practical well-doing ; and when in con- 
nection with such high, benevolent purpose, we find a native good- 
ness of heart disclosing such constant self-sacrifice, we are at no 
loss to recognize his vocation. 

Then, as the fitting support of this noble quality, there was also 
the stauncher, but not less requisite virtue of an indomitable energy . 
It was the iron column, around whose capital that delicate lily- 
work was woven. His was not a benevolence which must waste 
itself in mere sentiment, for want of a power of endurance 
adequate to support it through hardship and peril. In that slight 
physical frame, suggestive only of refined culture and intellectual 
grace, there dwelt a sturdy force of will, which no combination 
of material terrors seemed to appall, and, by a sort of magnetic 
impulse, subjected all inferior spirits to its control. It was the 
calm pow'er of reason and duty asserting their superiority over 



mere brute courage, and compelling tlie instinctive homage of 
Herculean strength and prowess. 

With what firm yet conscientious resolve does he quell the 
rising symptoms of rebellion which threaten to add the horrors 
of mutiny to those of famine and disease ! And all through that 
stern battle with Nature in her most savage haunts, how he ever 
seems to turn his mild front toward her frowning face, if in 
piteous appealing, yet not less in fixed resignation ! 

We instinctively exult in every triumph of mind over matter, 

♦ 

in every fresh aggression of art upon nature, and cannot but 
feel, even while touched by their sufferings, a generous pride in 
those who enlarge our ideas of human endurance, and strengthen 
our faith in moral >as distinguished from material power. But 

when such intrepidity and fortitude are displayed in the pursuit 

$ 

of lofty, unselfish aims, it is as if we saw the olden romance of 
chivalry, returning in a practical age, to enlist the hardiest virtues 
in the service of the gentlest and purest charities. The heart 
must applaud in the midst of its pity, and smiles an approval 
even through its tears. 

But if in the conduct of that heroic enterprise, benevolence 
appeared supported by energy and patience, so, too, was it 
equipped with a most marvellous practical tact . He brought to 
his task not merely the resources of acquired skill, but a native 
power of adapting himself to emergencies, and a fertility in 
devising expedients, which no occasion ever seemed to baffle. 
Immured in a dreadful seclusion, where the combined terrors of 
nature forced him into all the closer contact with the passions of 
man, he not only rose, by his energy, superior to them both, but, 
by his ready executive talent, converted each to his ministry. 


Circumstances, which would have whelmed ordinary minds in 
helpless bewilderment, appeared only to enhance his self-collection 
and develope his versatile genius. Whether he had to deal with 
the humors of a sick and desponding crew, or to provide sub- 
sistence and amusement in the midst of a lifeless solitude, or to 
snatch the flower of opportunity at the dizzy brink of peril — in 
every form of crisis, he displayed the same keen perception of 
surrounding realities, with the same quick and nice adjustment 

of himself to their demands. Even the wild inmates of that icv 

%/ 

world, from the mere stupid wonder with which at first they 
regarded his imported marvels of civilization, were, at length, 
forced to descend to a genuine respect and love, as they saw him 
outwitting their experience by his ingenuity and competing with 
them in the practice of their own rude, stoical virtues. 

We love goodness ; we admire courage ; but when both are 
found armed for practice with an adaptive faculty which was as 
the skill of a strong hand that drew its pulse from a warm heart, 
there is nothing left us but to wonder at a combination so 
symmetrical and rare. From our contemplation of the man, w r e 
revert to the occasion to which he is to be adjusted ; and as we 
picture the genius of philanthropy leading forth her trained 
votary after a perilous prize which has been planted sheer beyond 
the boundaries of all local jealousy and pride, and at the magnetic 
centre of a universal sympathy — we know not wdiether more to 
admire the fitness of the scene to the actor, or of the actor to 
the scene. So does Providence, with poetical rectitude, arrange 
the drama of a good deed. 

To such more sterling qualities were joined the graces of an afflu- 
ent cheerfulness , that never deserted him in the darkest hours — a 


delicate and capricious humor , glancing among the most rugged 
realities like the sunshine upon the rocks — and, above all, that 
invariable stamp of true greatness, a beautiful modesty , ever 
sufficiently content with itself to be above the necessity of 
pretension. These were like the ornaments of a Grecian building, 
which, though they may not enter into the effect of the outline, are 
found to impart to it, the more nearly it is surveyed, all the 
grace and finish of the most exquisite sculpture. 

And yet, strong and fair as were the proportions of that 
character in its more conspicuous aspects, we should still have 
been disappointed did we not find, albeit hidden deep beneath 
them, a firm basis of religious sentiment . For all serious and 
thoughtful minds this is the purest charm of those graphic volumes 
in which he has recorded the story of his wonderful escapes and 
deliverances. There is everywhere shining through its pages a 
chastened spirit, too familiar with human weakness to overlook a 
Providence in his trials, and too conscious of human insignificance 
to disdain its recognition. Now, in his lighter, more pensive 
moods, we see it rising, on the wing of a devout fancy, into that 
region where piety becomes also poetry : 

“ I have trodden the deck and the floes, when the life of earth 
seemed suspended, its movements, its sounds, its colorings, its 
companionships ; and as I looked on the radiant hemisphere, 
circling above me, as if rendering worship to the unseen Centre 
of light, I have ejaculated in humility of spirit, ‘ Lord, what is 
man, that thou art mindful of him?’ ” 

Again, in graver emergencies, it appears as a habitual 
resource, to which he has come in conscious dependence : 

“ A trust, based on experience as well as on promises, buoyed 


me- up at the worst of times. Call it fatalism, as you ignorantly 

may, there is that in the story of every eventful life which 

teaches the inefficiency of human means, and the present control 

of a Supreme Agency. See how often relief has come at the 

moment of extremity, in forms strangely unsought, almost at 

the time unwelcome ; see, still more, how the back has been 

strengthened to its increased burdens, and the heart cheered by 

some conscious influence of an unseen Power.” 

And at length, we find it settling into that assurance which 

belongs to an experienced faith and hope : 

“ I never doubted for an instant, that the same Providence 

which had guarded us through the long darkness of winter was 

still watching over us for good, and that it was yet in reserve 

for us — for some ; I dared not hope for all — to bear back the 

tidings of our rescue to a Christian land.” 

Those Arctic Sabbaths were “ full of sober thought and wise 

resolve.” We hear no profane oath vaunting itself from that 

little ice-bound islet of human life, where man has been thrown 

so helplessly into the hands of God ; but rather, in its stead, 

murmured amid the wild uproar of the storm, that daily prayer, 

“Lord, accept our thanks, and restore us to our homes.” And 

when, at length, that prayer is graciously answered, it is the 

same spirit which brings him — whither now, alas ! can only be 

brought these poor remains — under the devout impulse, “ I will 

pay my vows unto the Lord in the presence of all his people.” 

Let us believe that a faith which supported him through trials 

worse than death, did not fail him when death itself came. 

Into that last tender scene both religion and delicacy alike forbid 

that we should too curiously intrude. Affection will prize it’s 

6 



# 


83 


he is borne to the more genial South, where, at length, beneath 
its ardent skies, and amidst its fragrant airs, supported by the 
ministries of love and the consolations of religion, his life drew 
gently to a close. 

In the near approach of death he was tranquil and composed. 
With too little strength either to support or indicate any thing 
of rapture, he was yet sufficiently conscious of his condition to 
perform some last aets befitting the solemn emergency. In 
reference to those whom he conceived to have deeply injured 
him, he expressed his cordial forgiveness. To each of the 
watching group around him his hand is given in the fond pressure 
of a final parting ; and then, as if sensible that his ties to earth 
are loosening, he seeks consolation from the requested reading 
of such Scripture sentences as had been the favorite theme of his 
thoughtful hours. 

Now he hears those soothing beatitudes which fell from the 
lips of the Man of Sorrows in successive benediction. Then he 
will have repeated to him that sweet, sacred pastoral — 

u The Lord is my Shepherd ; I shall not want. He maketh 
me to lie down in green pastures : he leadeth me beside the still 
waters. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me : Thy rod and 
Thy staff, they comfort meY 

At length are recited the consolatory words with which the 
Saviour took leave of his weeping disciples : 

u Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe in God, believe 
also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it 
were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for 
you.” 











And at last in the midst of this comforting recital, he is seen 
to expire — so gently that the reading still proceeds some moments 
after other watchers have become aware that he is already 
beyond the reach of any mortal voice. Thus, in charity with all 
mankind, and with words of the Redeemer in his ear, con- 
veyed by tones the most familiar and beloved on earth, his spirit 
passed from the world of men. 

The heart refuses to deal with such a reality. Death never 
seems so much a usurper on the domain of life as at the grave of 
the young and the gifted. In fancy we strive to complete that 
brilliant fragment of a history so abruptly ended. We are 
carried forward into the future, in an effort to picture all that 
he might have been to his country and the world, until drawn 
back again by these sad shows of our loss and sorrow, we pro- 
nounce nothing so visionary as this fleeting life, and nothing so 
empty as human glory. And thus is it ever the same trite lesson 
we learn at each new-made grave. There was never any human 
life so complete it could be finished on earth. There was never 
any human spirit so gifted it could accomplish its destiny here. 
The most illustrious actions, the most varied attainments, the 
most disciplined virtues are, at best, but crude, elementary trials 
of a novitiate state. Could we follow the regenerate spirit as it 
emerges from its earthly pupilage ; could we trace its career from 
scene to scene of expanding effort and from accession to accession 
in knowledge, love, and joy ; could we pause with it at length, 
on some far distant peak of high attainment, whence as in retro- 
spective fancy, it looks back upon rolling worlds with their 
changing climates and histories — how would the science, the 
philanthropy, the heroism of this vanishing life, have dwindled 




iam ar . 


85 


away to the merest playthings, the mimic smiles ancl tears, of 
the childhood of our immortality ! Let the chaplet be woven, 
let the banner be shrouded, let the dirge be wailed, and, with fair, 
fond pageantry, let earth be rendered back to its kindred earth ; 
but we shall not have soared to the highest moral of the elegiac 
spectacle, until from that eternity which lies beyond this tomb of 
blighted hope and buried glory, we return to write upon it ; This 
also is vanity ! 

Alas ! the hand of the victor drops in death at the moment it 
is extended to grasp the laurel. 

After the offering of a prayer by the Rev. Dr. Boardman, 
the beautiful and appropriate “ Solo,” composed by Dr. Calcott, 
was sung by Prof. T. Bishop, with striking effect, as follows : 

Forgive blest shade, the tributary tear, 

That mourns thy exit from a world like this ; 

Forgive the wish that would have kept thee here, 

And stayed thy progress to the seat of bliss. 

No more confined to grov’ling scenes of night, 

No more a tenant pent in mortal clay ; 

Now we would rather hail thy glorious flight, 

And trace thy journey to the realms of day. 

The dirge, “ Unveil thy bosom, faithful tomb,” was then per- 
formed, and after a benediction by Rev. Mr. Shields, the large 
congregation commenced to disperse. 

The imposing public demonstration necessarily terminated 
with the dismissal of the military escort and the civic societies at 
the church, and the subsequent solemnities were in some degree of 
a private character. Yet the- Joint Committee considered that 




86 


their appointment included directions to assist in the concluding 
rites, and to represent those by whom they were appointed even 
in conveying the remains of the deceased to the family vault. 
Thither also went the pall bearers and the Arctic companions of 
Doctor Kane and numerous citizens, and there with befitting 
service by the reverend clergy the body of Elisha Kent Kane was 
laid at rest, amid the manifestations of grief and respect which 
have distinguished the burial of few men of his years in any 
country. 

In reference to the formation of the funeral cortege, the commit- 
tee deem it proper to state that they did not feel it incumbent upon 
them to issue invitations to any particular society to attend and 
participate in the ceremonies ; and their confidence in the proper 
feeling of their fellow citizens was justified in the numerous 
notices of societies, public institutions, scientific, literary and 
philanthropic associations and other bodies, of their intention to 
join in the services, and an expression of desire to have a place 
assigned to them in the procession ; all were accepted, and though 
some notices were received after the completion and publication 
of the programme, yet is believed that a place was assigned to 
all those who desired admittance to the ranks. 

Of the distinguished gentlemen invited to act as pall bearers, 
all, not prevented by absence or illness accepted, and the terms 
of acceptance, or where the necessity of the case rendered accep- 
tance impossible, the expression of regrets, were such as to give 
additional proof of the high estimation in which Dr. Kane was 
held, and of the conviction of duty to make public demonstration 
of that estimation. 

Only two persons resident beyond the limits of Pennsyl- 






vania were invited to act as pall bearers. Those were Henry 
Grinnell, Esq., of New York, and George Peabody, Esq., a 
citizen of the United States resident in London, but now in this 
country. Both of these gentlemen were so intimately connected 
with the Arctic Expeditions of Dr. Kane as to associate their 
names inseparably with the history of those great enterprises. 
It was to be regretted that Mr. Peabody had, before the 
arrangements for the obsequies were made, left Washington for 
the southern part of the union, and did not even receive the 
invitation to be present. Mr. Grinnell came from New York 
and assisted in the funeral services of one whom he so highly 
valued. 

As it rarely happens that such civic honors are paid to the 
memory of those who have not been distinguished by lofty 
political places, or some remarkable achievement in war, it may 
not be improper to add, that the whole manifestation of respect 
by the corporation and citizens of Philadelphia to the remains of 
Dr. Kane, seems to be remarkable from its expression of public 
feeling which presented itself in a form and with a universality 
that demanded an extraordinary demonstration,. and to sanction 
all that the Joint Committee could devise and execute under 
existing circumstances ; and while this same feeling was evident, 
and its utterance more remarkable, at H r ./ana, where Dr. Kane 
breathed its last — at New Orleans, where his remains first 
touched the shores of our country, and all through the long 
“ funeral march,” from the mouth of the Mississippi to the banks 
of the Delaware, it was most certainly appropriate that here, 
in Philadelphia, illustrated by his achievements ; here, where his 
science and humanity had added new dignity to the distinction 





of his native city, that his memory should be honored by those 

\ 

who can appreciate the excellence which he manifested, and who, 
though they mourn the loss to science and philanthropy which 
his early death has caused, can comprehend the merits of one 
who accomplished the work of ages in what was a short life in 
all respects save its usefulness. No city in the Union has a 
richer treasury in the fame of its sons, than Philadelphia. In 
literature, in science, in the arts, in the achievements of war, 
in the beautiful works of peace, in enlarged provision for 
the destitute, and in general philanthropy, the examples of 
Philadelphians, are beautiful precedents of all that is great in 
plan and ennobling in execution ; and on the roll of their civic 
fame she now records the name of Elisha Kent Kane, and the 
whole civilized world attests the correctness of the appreciation, 
and does homage to the merits that secured the record. At 
home the influence of the good example of those who have preceded 
us, has been always operative for good, henceforth there will be 
an additional incitement to enterprise and philanthropy in the 
noble daring and self-sacrificing philanthropy of Dr. Kane ; 
and Philadelphians abroad will have a new distinction in their 
civic relations with one whose actions have cast so much lustre 
on generous enterprise, and so magnified the value of practical 
benevolence. 

Nor can the Committee omit to remark that the generous 
courage and the unfailing urbanity of Dr. Kane awakened even 
in the hearts of the uncivilized , with whom he came in contact, 
a sense of lofty regard for the possession and practice of those 
qualities, so that wherever Providence allowed him to gratify 
his desire for research, he excited feelings and left impressions 





89 


that will keep alive profound admiration for his talents, and 
secure ineffaceable gratitude for his kindness. 

While it is understood that the same feeling of civic pride 
animated all who shared in the solemnities of the occasion, it is 
considered an act of justice to express gratitude to the Chief 
Marsha], who assisted the Committee in the arrangement of the 
plan of the procession, and who so successfully carried out the 
whole arrangement ; while thanks are also due to his aids and 
assistants who secured the most perfect fulfilment of his and the 
Committee’s arrangement in the details submitted to their care. 

The procession derived much of its solemnity from the striking 
display of military, who under Brigadier General George Cad- 
walader, assisted as escort. The commanding officer was prompt 
in complying with the wishes of the Committee, and the whole 
arrangement was a beautiful and meritorious tribute of respect 
by the citizen soldiery to the citizen of arms and arts and sciences, 
and generous impulses. 

The Company of Washington Greys, in addition to the escort 
duties, earned the gratitude of the Committee and of the public, 
by the gentlemanly delicacy with which they discharged the 
duties of Guard of Honor to the body as it lay in state in the 
Hall of Independence. Where all the citizens seemed concerned 
to have the demonstration such as would be expressive of the 
deepest grief at the loss deplored, and the most profound respect 
for the memory of the honored dead, it would seem unnecessary to 
make especial reference to the particular classes who joined in 
the manifestation of the day ; but it is deemed due to the proper 
spirit of our citizens to say that the great mercantile interests of 
the City were represented not only by those who were invited to 



90 


take some special part in the proceedings, but by a great body 
of merchants from the Corn Exchange, who did honor to their 
pursuits by the spirit and liberality with which they seconded the 
efforts of the Committee, and the numbers by which they were 
represented in the procession. Dr. Kane was not in any of his 
various professional relations directly connected with the com- 
mercial calling, but he was a man of enterprise, of science, of 
generous daring on the seas ; he was a philanthropist, he w T as a 
Philadelphian, and the Association of the Corn Exchange showed 
its power to appreciate the honor which the fame of the deceased 
threw upon all professional pursuits, and they deserve the special 
thanks of the Committee for manifesting their generous sympa- 
thies for one who, as a Philadelphian, had thrown lustre upon 
nautical enterprise, and invested the name and character of man 
with new and more beautiful attributes. 

Claiming special proprietorship in the fame of Dr. Kane, the 
citizens of Philadelphia must feel that such honors as were in New 
Orleans, in Louisville, Cincinnati, Columbus, Baltimore and other 
places, bestowed upon the remains of our townsman, devolved upon 
them the duty at least of public acknowledgment ; and while they 
know how spontaneous were these tokens of respect, and how 
specially paid to and deserved by, the dead, the Committee feel 
it incumbent upon them to express, in the name of those whom 
they represent, a profound gratitude for the striking manner in 
which the generous enthusiasm of their fellow citizens at a dis- 
tance found expression. 

In a simple report of the proceedings of a Committee, even 
on an occasion of such general interest, it is not necessary to 
incorporate any studied eulogy of him who was the object of 


91 








those honors, for the arrangement of which the Committee was 
appointed. Every where the merits of Dr. Kane are acknow- 
ledged ; every where his fame is regarded as a part of the dis- 
tinction of this age, and the inspiration of the poet, the power of 
the pen and the press, and the voice of the public speaker, have 
been exercised to give utterance to those sentiments of admira- 
tion which all feel, and to which all respond when thus uttered. 
But had such been a duty devolved upon the Committee, that 
duty could not have been more gratifyingly discharged than it 
w r as by the Rev. Mr. Shields ; and to supply the deficiency of 
their own expressions, the Committee adopt the language of the 
Divine, and have incorporated into their statement of the pro- 
ceedings of the day, that most interesting part, which, in the 
grandeur of simplicity, gave utterance to a well prepared eulogy, 
and which held up for admiration the strong characteristics of 
the eulogized, and displayed those characteristics, so blended 
with the beautiful and the good, as to exhibit “ a combination 
and a form indeed, that gave the world assurance of a man.” 

In the opinion of the committee the proceedings which marked 
the whole progress of the remains of Dr. Kane from his death 
bed to the sepulchre, were themselves one of the most distinguished 
eulogies, that a people has ever pronounced upon one who 
claimed no distinction as a leader of armies, or as a director 
in statesmanship, and the single record of the outburst of public 
feeling, and the demonstration of general regard that had place 
in this country and are still to be noticed, will be the proudest 
monument that can be raised to the lofty and the gentle qualities, 
the enterprise, the philanthropy, the science and the friendship 
of Elisha Kent Kane. 








92 


But the committee are reminded of a subject submitted to one 
part of their body by the public meeting by which the com- 
mittee from the citizens was appointed, viz : the collection of 
funds to erect a monument at some appropriate place, to the 
memory of Dr. Kane ; not simply to do him honor but rather 
to do our community the justice, to show that it could appreciate 
the noble character of their townsman, and while the nation may 
possibly boast of the merits of the honored dead, our own citizens 
may proudly point to the recorded proof that he was of their own 
number. 

It is not the opinion of the committee that the corporation of 
the city should be asked to assist in the erection of the proposed 
monument. The sum that would be worthy of the giver in such 
a case, would deprive citizens of the opportunity of expressing 
their admiration of the character of the honored dead, and make 
the monument itself an emblem of civic pride, rather than a token 
of popular admiration. The monument, if erected must be the 
exponent of general sentiment individually expressed. And 
the young aspirant for fame and honor must learn from that 
column, that greatness is the result of noble enterprise and self 
abnegation, and that the virtues which secure permanent distinc- 
tion and unfading honor are those that appeal to the affections 
of the people, and that no monument is so honorable or so enduring 
as that which records the triumphs of science by the aid of 
benevolence. 

It is a part of the instructions of the solemnities and public 
proceedings which are here noticed, and the part most useful to 
the young and gratifying to all, that public sentiment in our 
country is most healthful, and the people of all pursuits and 




conditions can appreciate the merit that rests on the achievements 
of peace and the sacrifices to duty ; and that the pomp and 
circumstances of war or the distinction of lofty political station, 
appealing as they may do to the patriotic pride of the people 
are not the only claims to public applause. The young by such 
demonstrations as have been made to the memory of Dr. Kane, 
see that there is a substantial worth in virtue and generous 
enterprise, and that the avenues to great distinction and to 
general gratitude are open to the man who can divest himself of 

calculations of selfish gain, and exercise the noblest sympathies 

* 

of his nature in acts of public benefit, which call for the sacrifice 
of personal ease and safety to the comfort and convenience of 
others. And it is' as much upon the character of the generous 
self sacrificing philanthropy as upon that of a daring and 
successful contributor to science, that Dr. Kane has built his 
lofty reputation. 

It is no inconsiderable portion of the great fame of Dr. Kane, 
that he had achieved the position which he must ever occupy in 
history, at an age when, in general, men are but undergoing the 
discipline which prepares them for the enterprise and endurance 
necessary to great success. And though he undoubtedly fell a 
sacrifice to his generous enterprise, and to his noble efforts to 
mitigate for others the consequences of perils and deprivations 
to which he and his companions were necessarily exposed, and 
suffered immensely from the voluntary assumption to himself of 
burthens that might have appropriately been left to others ; yet 
it is not found that such manifest consequences led him to regret 
the sacrifice. On the contrary, his history exhibits not a single 
page of selfish thought or action from the moment he entered 



upon the career which has given him the praise, sympathy and 
gratitude of a world, to the hour when afar from home, yet 
amidst cherished relatives and friends, he calmly yielded up all 
earthly ties, with a Christian’s confidence and submission to his 
Creator’s will. It is perfectly manifest that in all his under- 
takings, his privations and his perils, and their obvious effect 
upon his system, he acted upon the ennobling sentiment that 
“the duties of life are greater than life.” 



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